Origami-based microwave absorber with a reconfigurable bandwidth
Xiqiao Chen, Wei Li, Wu Zhuang, Zilong Zhang, Yanhong Zou
Abstract
Reconfigurability is critical for the research fields in electromagnetics, mechanics, and acoustics, due to the controllability of functionalities. This Letter numerically and experimentally demonstrates an origami-based absorber with a reconfigurable bandwidth. The proposed structure provides four transformable models: flat sheet, single-arch-folded, double-arch-folded, and U-shaped strips filled, corresponding to the performance of nearly no absorption, one-peak absorption, two-peak absorption, and ultra-broadband absorption (3.4-18 GHz), which clearly demonstrates the bandwidth-enhancement effect. In contrast with the traditional structural absorbers, the transformable flat sheet and U-shaped strips are obtained by three-dimensional printing, which exhibits an obvious superiority in prototype fabrication. These results provide a feasible strategy for energy dissipation and origami transformation.