Ultrawide meta-film replication process for the mass production of a flexible microwave absorbing meta-surface

Abstract

The manufacturing process for an ultrawide flexible microwave absorbing meta-surface was developed and optimized experimentally. The developed replication process consists of four main steps to demonstrate double-square loop array meta-structures: (1) mechanical machining of a master mold, (2) soft mold replication and patterned film imprinting, (3) conductive ink blade filling, (4) lamination of a base flexible film to meta sheet. Based on experimental optimization of the individual steps, the manufacturing process for a large-area flexible meta-film was established successfully. The feasibility of a developed process has been demonstrated with a 200 mm x 500 mm fabricated meta-film with a focus on microwave absorbing uniformity in the X-band region. (C) 2022 Optica Publishing Group under the terms of the Optica Open Access Publishing Agreement