Frequency Selective Surface-Based Electromagnetic Absorbers: Trends and Perspectives

This paper presents a review of frequency selective surface (FSS)-based electromagnetic absorbers with an insight into their operational principles. Various techniques commonly used to design and develop FSS-based absorbers for several vital metrics are discussed to assess their efficacies and highlight the benefits and limitations of each solution. The absorbers are discussed in light of their major attributes, starting from their evolution to the state-of-the-art. It includes the most popular configurations of FSS-based absorbers-single/multilayer, radar absorbing material, metamaterial, to more recently used active and conformal absorbers. These absorbers can provide absorption bandwidth in both narrowband and wideband frequencies, which find numerous applications throughout the frequency spectrum, ranging from the VHF range to visible light. Some important aspects of the absorber’s performance have been highlighted. It includes minimum possible thickness for maximum achievable bandwidth, polarization stability, oblique angle insensitivity, and mitigation of cross-polarized reflection required to design an efficient absorber. Moreover, some of the most popular manufacturing and measurement techniques of FSS-based absorbers are discussed before concluding with some future aspects. In the conclusion, the need for economical electromagnetic absorbers to achieve good absorption performances over a wide range of frequencies is justified. The approaches presented in this article offer a broader view of capabilities and forthcoming developments in this crucial area.