Matched impedance high index materials for antennas

It is the focus of this project to design, construct and characterise a broadband high-index but impedance-matched medium to air, for RF and microwaves up to and beyond 1 GHz. Whereas initial studies will consider normal incidence, the ultimate goal is to maximise the angle-stability of the impedance matching. The application context is small multifunction antennas, but the breakthroughs will have generic relevance to wide band RF/microwave applications.

The challenges are numerous and difficult, but we expect great advances in understanding and device design from a competent student. There are a wealth of studies in the scientific literature, and the student will be required to undertake a substantial review to provide DSTL with a summary of the state-of-the-art on composite materials and impedance matching. He or she will need to become familiar with the physics of magnetic and composite materials, and fabrication and characterisation techniques. A particular obstacle will be to manufacture the materials on a scale large enough to be tested in the high MHz, low GHz regime, where strip-line techniques become unfeasible. The ability to manufacture large scale (Several tens of cms) materials having bespoke electromagnetic parameters will be essential if the project is to reach its full potential for applications. The student will also need to become fully familiar with the fundamentals of magnetism, the complexities of wave optics, and polarisation effects in order to explore and extend the limitations involved in layered devices.