Frequency Selective Structures for Electromagnetic Applications

Summary

Frequency selective structures, encompassing metasurfaces and multilayer arrays, are engineered to control electromagnetic wave propagation by exhibiting tailored transmission, reflection or absorption characteristics at specific frequency bands. Rooted in resonator‐based designs and equivalent circuit models, these architectures harness interactions between unit‐cell geometries and incident fields to achieve selective filtering and energy dissipation. Their adaptability spans from single‐band filters to multifunctional rasorbers that combine passbands with broadband absorption. Fabrication techniques, ranging from printed electronics to three‐dimensional machining, support flexible and conformal implementations. Applications are manifold, including stealth radomes, antenna isolation, adaptive communications, electromagnetic shielding and sensing. Progress in materials such as graphene, magnetic absorbers and novel dielectrics, alongside advances in tunable elements like varactors, has driven performance enhancements in bandwidth, angular stability and polarisation diversity, underscoring the global relevance of frequency selective structures in contemporary electromagnetic engineering.

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Frequency Selective Structures for Electromagnetic Applications publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in frequency selective structures for electromagnetic applications across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Frequency selective surface (FSS): A periodic array of resonant elements engineered to transmit, reflect or absorb electromagnetic waves selectively at designated frequency bands.

Rasorber: A multifunctional surface combining frequency selective transmission windows with absorptive bands to control both reflection and absorption characteristics.

Metamaterial: An artificially structured material whose electromagnetic response arises from its engineered unit‐cell geometry rather than its chemical composition.

Passband: A frequency range over which a structure allows transmission with low insertion loss.

Absorption band: A frequency interval in which incoming electromagnetic energy is strongly dissipated into heat or other forms within the structure.

References

  1. Flexible frequency-selective rasorber based on metal-graphene hybrid metamaterial.. Optics Express (2022).
  2. Ultra-wide transmission band frequency-selective rasorber using 2.5-D miniaturized structures.. Optics Express (2022).
  3. 3-D Single- and Dual-Polarized Frequency-Selective Rasorbers With Wide Absorption Bands Based on Stepped Impedance Resonator. IEEE Access (2021).

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