Electromagnetic and Microwave Absorption Properties of Hybrid FeCrAl/Ti3SiC2 Composite in X-Band
Hybrid magnetic–dielectric absorbers for electromagnetic applications consisting of FeCrAl and Ti3SiC2 powders have been fabricated by a ball-milling process and their electromagnetic characteristics and microwave absorption performance investigated in the frequency range from 8.2 GHz to 12.4 GHz. The dielectric loss increased with increasing Ti3SiC2 content, while the magnetic loss decreased. The electromagnetic parameters of the hybrid FeCrAl/Ti3SiC2 powders could be adjusted by adding various contents of Ti3SiC2. The hybrid powder with 20 wt.% Ti3SiC2 and 80 wt.% FeCrAl presented the most favorable microwave absorption performance. For the sample with thickness of 2.6 mm, effective absorption (<−10 dB) was obtained in the frequency range from 8.4 GHz to 12.1 GHz with a minimum value of −43.6 dB at 9.7 GHz. These results indicate that hybrid FeCrAl/Ti3SiC2 powders with appropriate weight ratio present better absorption performance than FeCrAl powder alone. This study makes a significant contribution to exploration of microwave absorption materials with low density, thin thickness, broad absorption bandwidth, and strong absorptivity.