New Antennas on New Nonmetallic Materials

Carbon and boron composites replace alloys in structures. Their favorable weight to strength ratio should not be impaired by additional metallic ground planes for antennas. Foremost comes lightning protection as these materials cannot handle energy surges. In cooperation with the Lightning and Transient Research Institute, Minneapolis, metal strip protection was developed. These double as ground plane improvement and new microstrip antenna elements are developed along with it. Microstrip radiators were developed to be distributed over complex curved surfaces to form resonant arrays.