An initial investigation on the use of carbon microfibers for conformal transmission lines

The use of carbon micro fiber tow (or bundle) for conformal transmission lines (TLs) is initially investigated in this work. Two different microfiber TLs have been synthesized and tested. A 28.2 mm long microfiber TL was manufactured to demonstrate the wave propagating properties. Once these characteristics were determined, a microstrip TL was prepared by attaching 1oz conducting copper tape to a conformal surface and a similar microfiber TL with the same length and on the same substrate was manufactured. This prototype was then used to compare the propagation characteristics of the microfiber TL to the traditional and well established microstrip TL. Overall, it has been shown that the microfiber TL can support wave propagation in a manner similar to a microstrip TL; however, the attenuation constant appears to be rather large for frequencies above 500 MHz.