Lightweight, Durable Army Antennas Using Carbon Nanotube Technology (First year Report)

Abstract

The application of carbon nanotube (CNT) materials to produce lightweight, flexible, and durable alternatives to existing and future Army antenna designs is explored through simulation and material fabrication and characterization. The conductivity and current distribution for a dipole antenna constructed from CNT thread/rope are simulated using Hallns integral equation for a thin wire applied to the method of moments. A variety of CNT thread/rope samples are fabricated and their physical and electrical characteristics are measured and compared with the simulation results. Finally, to support future nanoscale antenna array research, the first steps towards establishing patterned multiwall CNT (MWNT) array fabrication capabilities at the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) are attempted and documented.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2012
Accession Number
AD1043625

Entities

People

  • Amir I. Zaghloul
  • Barbara Nichols
  • Steven D. Keller

Organizations

  • United States Army Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Advanced Electronics

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Antenna Arrays
  • Antennas
  • Carbon Nanotubes
  • Chemical Vapor Deposition
  • Dipole Antennas
  • Equations
  • Fabrication
  • Fullerenes
  • Integral Equations
  • Materials
  • Materials Laboratories
  • Materials Processing
  • Method Of Moments
  • Military Research
  • Raman Spectroscopy
  • Simulations
  • Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Readers

  • Electromagnetic Wave Scattering and Antenna Radiation Engineering
  • Nanocomposite Materials Science
  • Systems Analysis and Design