Microwave programmable response of Co-based microwire polymer composites through wire microstructure and arrangement optimization

Traditional approaches to realize microwave tunability in microwire polymer composites which mainly rely on topological factors, magnetic field/stress stimuli, and hybridization are burdensome and restricted to rather narrow band frequencies. This work presents a facile strategy based on a single component tunable medium to program the transmission response over wide frequency bands. Structural modification of one type of microwire through suitable current annealing and arrangement of the annealed wires in multiple combinations were sufficient to distinctly red-shift the transmission dip frequency of the composites. Such one wire control-strategy endorsed a programmable multivariable system grounded on the variations in both the overall array conductivity or “effective” area determined by the wires arrangement and the relaxation time dictated by the annealing degree of microwires. These results can be used to prescribe transmission frequency bands of desired features via diverse microwire arrays and microwave performance from a single component to composite system design.