The complex electrical permittivity and magnetic permeability of composite materials made of a polymer binder filled with micron-scale carbonyl iron powder (CIP) are measured between 0.1 and 39 GHz. Permeability is measured in overlapping frequency subbands using two different techniques: a free-space method from 3 to 39 GHz and a coaxial impedance cell from 0.1 to 5 GHz. The dependence on filler concentration is studied for composites based on phosphated CIP R-100F-2. It is found that the static permittivity and permeability of the composites increase logarithmically with increasing percentage of CIP volume loading; this corresponds to Lichtenecker’s law for a mixture of two components. It is demonstrated that by using the R-100F-2 type CIP it is possible to produce single-layer radar-absorbing materials with a relatively small thickness (less than 1.5 mm) and a deep and broad normal-incidence reflectivity minimum (less than −20 dB) from 10 to 30 GHz.

• Received 8 September 2020
• Revised 2 March 2021
• Accepted 16 June 2021

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevApplied.16.014062