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Unlocking Industry 4.0: Novel portable anechoic chamber with metamaterial absorber for antenna measurement

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Compact and portable anechoic chamber that uses a revolutionary metamaterial electromagnetic wave absorber, covering the frequency range from 700 MHz to 18 GHz. This enables cost-effective and easy testing of small antenna radiation patterns, particularly convenient for the automobile, radio frequency circuits, and telecommunications industries.

TRL: 5

The performance of the proposed anechoic chamber has been compared with a conventional one in an industrial environment for standard testing of commercial antennas used in the automobile industry for product qualification. The tests matched the results obtained with a conventional chamber. IT is available to test frequencies beyond 700 MHz to 18 GHz.

Background and description

Nowadays, anechoic chambers for electromagnetic waves (e.g., radio), regardless of their size, are coated with bulky, fragile, and environmentally harmful 3D materials. Often pyramid-shaped, these coatings occupy a considerable space within the chamber, imposing large casings, even for small antennas. The tips of these 3D coatings are fragile and break very easily, seriously affecting its performance and increasing maintenance costs. Moreover, these coatings contain carbon black in their composition, a material that poses environmental and health hazards.
The present technology is characterized by a revolutionary ultrathin 2D metamaterial absorber (sub-wavelength), able to effectively absorb electromagnetic waves ranging from 700 MHz to 18 GHz. This new anechoic coating absorber occupies incomparably less volume than the traditional 3D materials, without compromising efficiency. This promotes portability and usability, as chambers can be significantly smaller and lighter. Additionally, the 2D structure is much sturdier than the 3D ones, reducing costs and performance issues. The production cost for this new absorber is also considerably lower compared to tradition 3D absorbers. This new technology is particularly relevant to industries than need to test small antennas.

Applications

Measurement of radiation pattern of small antennas:
Automobile industry
Communications
Space sector
Radio frequency circuits

Benefits

Minimal damage chance: as the absorber is 2D, the chances of breaking or other human-induced damage are significantly reduced compared to traditional 3D materials.
Higher working area or smaller casing volume: the new 2D and ultrathin material allows for much smaller casings or chambers with the same total volume but a considerably larger working area.
10x lighter: the new material weights 0,33 Kg/m2, ten times less than a conventional absorber, 3,22 Kg/m2.
Portability: reduced weight and volume favor portability and usability, allowing this anechoic chamber to be carried by a person.
Reduced costs: the new absorber material is cheaper than the conventional one, and, due to its resistance, maintenance costs are significantly reduced.

Inventors

Amit Kumar Baghel
Pedro Renato Tavares Pinho
Nuno Miguel Gonçalves Borges de Carvalho

Patents

A. Baghel, P. Pinho, N.B.C. Carvalho, Y. Bikrat, Compact anechoic chamber, metamaterial absorber, and uses thereof, PCT/IB2024/054984, PCT, 22-05-2023,
| Abstract

A. Baghel, Y. Bikrat, N.B.C. Carvalho, P. Pinho, Compact anechoic chamber, metamaterial absorber, and uses thereof, PT118685, National, Abandoned, 25-05-2023, Portugal

Publications

A. Baghel, M. Anacleto, N.B.C. Carvalho, P. Pinho, Novel Ultra-thin Meta-Material Absorber for Potential Use in Compact Anechoic Chamber, European Conference on Antennas and Propagation - EuCap, FlORENCE, Italy, Vol., pp. -, March, 2023,
| Abstract | Full text (PDF 1 MB) | BibTex

A. Baghel, N.B.C. Carvalho, P. Pinho, Uncertainty in The Antenna Measurements With the Broken Absorbers, IEEE MTT-S International Microwave & RF Conference IMARC, BANGALORE, India, December, 2022,
| Abstract | Full text (PDF 3 MBs) | BibTex

REFERENCE: PI-1036

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