R2R Fabrication of Millimeter Wave Dipole Chaff with High Radar Cross Section

Physical Sciences, Inc. (PSI) has developed a batch process to coat commercial carbon fibers (CF) with copper. The thickness of the copper coating and the diameter of the substrate fiber can be tuned to yield optimized chaff with high Radar Cross Section (RCS). Simulations and single fiber lab measurements indicate that the proposed copper coated CF (Cu/CF) provide 6.5X extinction compared to the current aluminum on glass (Al/SiO2) chaff at 35 GHz. PSI will convert this batch process to a roll to roll (R2R) pilot production system that will copper coat continuous CF tows. The CF tows will be laser cut to the target resonant length corresponding to 2 and 150 GHz frequencies. On the Phase I program, we will fabricate a small scale continuous process to demonstrate Cu/CF production and to provide chaff for characterization. Our partner, Prof. Charles Bruce at New Mexico State University, will provide chaff RF characterization. As part of a Phase I Option we will deliver laser cut Cu/CF packed in RR-129 cartridges to our partner, Esterline Defense Technologies, for dissemination testing. During the Phase II program, we will construct and optimize a pilot production system to produce 1 kilogram per hour of the Cu/CF.