RF Transparent Materials

The RF Transparent Materials program addresses the need for low-cost, high-performance RF transparent materials for conformal antennas.  CLAS antennas are designed to carry the load of a structure while incorporating full antenna functionality.  Consequently, CLAS structures are limited to non-conductive materials, such as Astroquartz, a quartz preform impregnated with cyanate ester resin.  Such materials do not provide high strength and, rather, are a compromise between structural integrity and antenna performance.  Our concept integrates reinforcing fibers into a quartz preform in such a fashion that the antenna performance is not degraded.  Thus, our key innovation is a composite fabric that exploits both the mechanical strength of reinforcing fiber and the electrical properties of quartz fiber.  This will be achieved through a special weave of the two materials optimized for their respective properties.  The Phase II program includes in-depth testing and modeling of the material, with a final large scale (9ft²) test with an antenna that will be used on a sensorcraft vehicle.