This research is focused on the design and realization of a low-cost conformal electromagnetic absorbing layer based on a composite of carbon nanotubes (CNTs) in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS). It is experimentally demonstrated that the electromagnetic properties of the composite, i.e., its permittivity and loss tangent can be engineered. On that basis, composites with different concentrations of CNTs (and as a result different complex permittivities) are used for the design of a multi-layer absorber. In order to validate the design, a prototype of the absorber is fabricated and concept and the design are validated both numerically and experimentally. Experimental results show a measured absorption better than 96% at the central frequency of operation of the absorber. The proposed absorber benefits from a flexible shape that can be conformed to cover curved surfaces. Moreover, since the proposed absorber is initially in a semi-liquid state, it can be applied as a coating layer on almost any geometry. The absorber is waterproof and polarization independent. It is also shown that the operating frequency of the absorber can be pneumatically tuned.

这项研究致力于基于聚二甲基硅氧烷（PDMS）中碳纳米管（CNT）的复合材料的低成本保形电磁吸收层的设计和实现。实验证明，可以设计复合材料的电磁性能，即其介电常数和损耗角正切。在此基础上，将具有不同浓度的CNT的复合材料（以及因此不同的复数介电常数）用于多层吸收器的设计。为了验证设计，制造了吸收器的原型，并在数值和实验上对概念和设计进行了验证。实验结果表明，在吸收器的中心工作频率下，测得的吸收率优于96％。所提出的吸收器受益于柔性形状，该柔性形状可以适合于覆盖弯曲表面。此外，由于所提出的吸收器最初是半液态的，因此它可以作为涂层涂覆在几乎任何几何形状上。吸收器是防水和极化无关的。还显示出，吸收器的工作频率可以气动调节。