Conformal Antenna Material Technology

There is a need for new innovative concepts for designing conformal antennas for a full spectrum of military, aerospace, and civilian applications. In many cases, the design of conformal antennas is severely limited due to the lack of new materials technologies that enable antenna designs that can adhere to various complex geometries. The design of conformal antenna systems for military and aerospace applications usually encounters very complicated structural geometries and this makes the design very challenging. During the Phase I of the Conformal Antenna Materials Technology Program, significant accomplishments were made in the development of new polymer coatings and materials, and EM simulation and modeling of those materials. These accomplishments now enable new methods for applying thin film conformal antennas to complex geometries. During the Phase II program, these basic technologies will be applied to develop a phased array that is integrated with an experimental aircraft wing for EM testing. The basic goal for the Phase II program is to develop and demonstrate these new materials and coating applications for conformal antenna array design applications. EM computational simulations provide the basis for performance predictions and verifications of these technology accomplishments.