(DURIP-21) ELECTROMAGNETIC PROPERTY MEASUREMENT APPARATUS OF CERAMIC MATERIALS AT HIGH TEMPERATURE ENVIRONMENTS

This proposal is to develop a platform to measure the electromagnetic (EM) parameters of ceramic materials at high temperature. Generally, ceramic materials of different compositions vary in their electrical and dielectric properties at different temperatures. However, there is very limited facility for high temperature EM property measurement from room temperature to high temperature. Existing research in this area extends to temperatures of only 1000C, which is far from the desired temperature range for practical applications. The apparatus we proposed here will be essential for many applications areas, including high-temperature electronics, aerospace, and defense sectors. To measure the electromagnetic parameters of ceramic materials, a unique experimental setup will be designed to operate at high temperature in free space (non-contact, non-destructive measurement). The measurement system consists of a vector network analyzer, free space antennas, software, and a high temperature furnace. Such apparatus will be beneficial to the funded AFOSR project, which is to engineer a new ceramic composite material system to improve the electromagnetic (EM) absorption performance for stealth airplanes operated in high temperature and corrosion environments. It will also be useful to characterize the electromagnetic (EM) transparency for radome materials in hypersonic vehicles. Both permittivity and dielectric loss tangent can be measured at flight conditions. The proposed furnace apparatus will advance the capability and efficiency of the fabrication facilities and will enable us to perform characterization for high temperature ceramic materials.