Achieving broadband electromagnetic absorption at a wide temperature range up to 1273 K by metamaterial design on polymer-derived SiC-BN@CNT ceramic composites

High-temperature broadband electromagnetic wave (EMW) absorption has emerged as a forefront challenge of EMW functional materials for harsh environment applications such as aerodynamically heated parts of stealth aircraft and aero engines. Herein, an innovative strategy for broadband absorption at high temperatures is proposed by combining the microstructural design of the EMW absorption phase in the polymer-derived SiC with a periodic structure design. The metamaterial was designed on SiC-BN@CNT ceramic composites with the shape of a frustum pyramid. The experimental results reveal that SiC-BN@CNT metamaterials exhibit excellent absorption performance even under a high-temperature environment of 1273 K, in which the effective absorption bandwidth (EAB) (below −10 dB) can achieve 15.52 GHz, almost covering the whole S, C, X, and Ku bands. Moreover, the CST simulation results show that the SiC-BN@CNT metamaterials have an impressive EAB of 34.62 GHz and the average absorption intensity is remarkably high with a value of 21.07 dB (<99 % absorption) in the frequency range of 2–40 GHz. The exciting EMW attenuation capability is ascribed to favorable impedance matching, enhanced conduction loss abilities, and multiple polarization loss at high temperatures. This work provides valuable insights for the development of broadband-absorbing material in high-temperature harsh environments.