Flexible Graphene@Silica Fabric Metasurface for Electromagnetic Wave Absorption on High‐Speed Aircraft
Guang Cui, Zhe Peng, Zhidong Liu, Haina Ci, Ruojuan Liu, Maoyuan Li, Huihui Wang, Zhongfan Liu, Zhongfan Liu, Zhongfan Liu
Abstract
Modern high-speed aircraft require materials that can absorb electromagnetic waves (EMWs) while remaining lightweight, flexible, and resistant to extreme heat flux. Although graphene@silica fabric (G@SF) is a promising metasurface in this regard, its EMW dissipation capacity is limited by its uniform sheet resistance distribution, which leads to mismatched interfacial wave impedance. In this study, a subtractive laser "erasing" technique is applied to G@SF grown via chemical vapor deposition to develop a scalable, flexible, ultrathin (0.1 mm), and thermally robust (up to 1000 °C) metasurface with tunable impedance for aerospace EMW absorption. This metasurface is directly integrated onto the aircraft thermal-insulation layer to obtain an integrated absorber that minimizes radar reflection (down to -42 dB) without adding significant weight or altering aircraft structure. The all-inorganic design ensures excellent durability under high temperatures, high-speed airflow scouring, and mechanical stress, making it ideal for aerospace applications. The proposed method is a promising approach for fabricating next-generation EMW-absorbing materials that combine performance, resilience, and manufacturability.