J-20 Put on the "invisible Cloak", will There be Tungsten Oxide in the Metamaterial?

According to Sina's military report, in early March, China Central Television's "Big Power Heavy Weapons" column disclosed the world's first supermaterial production line in Shenzhen. The program said that in this production line, stealth, anti-combustion, anti-icing and other metamaterials have been born. This material may be used in fighter planes, so will it contain tungsten?

In the documentary, the world's first supermaterial production line, located in Bantian, Longgang, Shenzhen, is the construction of the State Key Laboratory of Metamaterial Electromagnetic Modulation Technology relying on Guangqi Institute of Technology. In fact, this production line mainly produces super-material board, with annual production capacity of more than 100,000 square meters of super-material board. This kind of super-material board is mainly used to produce portable super-material flat-panel satellite communication station. It has the characteristics of foldable, small size, light weight, compact structure and easy to accept.

The supermaterial for fighter aircraft is actually a kind of intelligent skin supermaterial which can adjust its absorptivity of radar wave according to the detection frequency of enemy radar. This material can be used not only in the skin of fighter aircraft, but also in the radome and antenna of aircraft to achieve miniaturization, versatility and intelligence of equipment.

As we all know, the key to stealth is to absorb radar waves and avoid tracking by enemy radar. The microwave absorbing metamaterials must be composed of a variety of material components through complex processes. Because of confidentiality, their specific contents will not be published. However, it can be inferred from some suppliers that the metamaterials may contain tungsten, because in some areas of aerospace and aviation, nano-tungsten oxide is also used in the manufacture of microwave absorbing material coatings.

In the field of tungsten research, tungsten oxide has unique physical properties such as photochromism, electrochromism, thermochromism and gas sensitivity. Its color change can be achieved by changing irradiation wavelength, temperature or applied voltage. Tungsten materials are inherently heat-resistant and can adapt to various extreme environmental changes. With the development of nanotechnology, nano-tungsten oxide is no longer confined to sensors. Photocatalysis, solar energy and electronic components are also used in the design of absorbing materials for radar electromagnetic wave.

Absorbing material is the key technology in stealth fighter technology. Traditional magnetic absorbents have the disadvantages of low temperature and high density. Therefore, the high temperature absorbing composites of new absorbing materials should be a kind of structural and functional integrated material, which can replace metal parts and realize the dual functions of bearing capacity and stealth. Therefore, nano-tungsten oxide with special properties has also been widely studied.

Some scholars have tested the electromagnetic wave absorption properties of nano-tungsten oxide materials. When the thickness of nano-tungsten oxide absorbing layer is 1.5 mm, the optimum absorbing property is obtained at 16.7 GHz, and the maximum reflection loss is -40.5 dB. The research proves that tungsten oxide is a very good absorbing material. It can promote the conversion of electromagnetic energy into thermal energy and increase the efficiency of electromagnetic energy into thermal energy. Therefore, it can be applied in the fields of electromagnetic shielding technology and battle stealth technology, improve the compatibility of electromagnetic equipment, strengthen the protection of information technology, and protect the health of personnel operating electromagnetic radiation equipment.

The development of metamaterials is a very complex system engineering, which reflects the military manufacturing strength of a country. The application of tungsten oxide is only the tip of the iceberg for the application of metamaterials at most. With the progress of science and technology, the radar of many developed military countries is constantly upgraded. The advanced detectors such as infrared detection radar, meter wave radar, laser radar and terahertz radar are constantly coming out. It is far from enough to fight against single-band stealth materials. Only wide-spectrum stealth materials that can resist multiple detection instruments can meet the needs of military equipment stealth. Therefore, the supermaterial structure of our country will continue to upgrade and perfect, so that our fighters can wear a "stealth cloak" that can shield electromagnetic radiation of different frequencies. (China Tungsten Online: Weiping)

• < Prev
• Next >