Textile-based 3D metamaterial absorber design for X-band application

In this paper, a textile-based metamaterial absorber (MMA) with a wearable, flexible and 3D structure was designed, manufactured, and measured at X-band. The designed MMA consists of three layers as weft-knitted fabric (as the periodic resonator layer), double-sided bonding tape (as the dielectric layer), and plain weave fabric (as the conductive layer). The textile structures were designed using the 'Computer-Aided Design Software' and then imported to the 'Computer Simulation Technology' for simulation. For experimental measurements, textile products were produced by choosing the best method and measurements were completed in the X-band (8–12 GHz). The simulation, experimental results were compared, and the state of polarization angle independency was examined. In the TE10 polarization, while the maximum absorption ratio occurred at 9.61 GHz as 98.25% for simulation, it was at 94.25% at 9.69 GHz for experimental measurement. In the TE10 with 90° polarization angle, while the maximum absorption ratio occurred at 9.81 GHz as 99.53% for simulation, it was at 94.55% at 9.52 GHz for experimental measurement. It is thought that the designed MMA can be used in military applications due to its textile-based properties and its perfect absorption.