Reflectivity verification of TiO2-coated carbon fiber-reinforced plastic surface for radio telescope in W-Band

Carbon fiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP) have the characteristics of light weight, flexibility in processing, and very good rigidity. In radio astronomical application, it can be used in the support structure and the dish of a reflector antenna. For reflector antenna application, there is an aluminum layer coated on the CFRP for improving the conductivity of the reflector. However, because the environmental and climatic conditions of the sites for radio telescope are usually severe, a Titanium dioxide (TiO2) layer is coated on the aluminum layer in order to protect the oxidization of the aluminum layer. In this paper, the reflectivity verification in W-Band for various thickness of TiO2 is measured in a bistatic arrangement.