3D-Printed Flexible and Conformal All-Dielectric Absorber for Advanced EM Absorption

This article proposes a flexible, all-dielectric metamaterial absorber (ADMA) tailored for advanced electromagnetic suppression in a wide frequency range. The design is realized through 3-D printing of thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) integrated with distilled water, resulting in lightweight and low-cost functionality. Numerical results demonstrate an absorption level exceeding 90% across an ultra-wide frequency range of 10.4–80.6 GHz, driven by dielectric loss and optimized impedance matching, while eliminating the need for metallic ground planes. The absorber exhibits polarization-independent operation and maintains angle-insensitive performance to oblique incidence up to 60° for transverse magnetic (TM) mode and 45° for transverse electric (TE) mode at the desired frequency range. Conformal adaptability is also experimentally validated, with stable absorption maintained for arbitrary orientations up to 180°, confirming its versatility for non-planar surfaces. A fabricated prototype further demonstrates broadband absorption in the 10.2–55GHz range, showing good agreement with simulations. Electric field analysis and pigment-induced dielectric variation studies verify robust behavior with minimal performance degradation. Owing to its scalability, bendability, and nonmetallic composition, the proposed absorber provides a significant advancement for applications requiring robust electromagnetic suppression, from electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding to next-generation nonplanar stealth platforms.