Electromagnetic scattering from randomly-centered parallel single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in a dielectric slab

Published

October 2, 2014

Author(s)

Edward Garboczi, ahmed hassan

Abstract

An analytical full wave model of parallel, randomly dispersed carbon nanotubes (CNTs) embedded in a dielectric slab was developed to calculate the electromagnetic scattering from simple but non-trivial CNT composites. The model focuses on empty and metal filled single walled CNTs. The model represents the CNTs as infinitesimally thin wires, parallel and infinitely long in the z direction, but randomly located in the x-y plane. The wires have the equivalent impedance of CNTs and are embedded in a dielectric slab with finite thickness in the x direction but infinite in the y and z directions. The electromagnetic radiation propagates in the x direction, and the entire model is periodic in the y direction. The model analytically incorporates all the interactions between the different CNTs and the interactions between the CNTs and the two x-interfaces of the dielectric slab. The main goal of this work is to investigate how the variations in the random locations of the CNTs in the unit cell can lead to variations in the electromagnetic scattering from the composite. A parametric study is performed to also demonstrate how these random variations in the electromagnetic scattering are affected by the filling material of the CNT, the volumetric density of the CNT, and the size and electrical properties of the dielectric slab, which represents the embedding matrix of the composite. The parametric study shows that composites with metal-filled CNTs exhibit more variations in the electromagnetic scattering than unfilled CNTs. Increasing the density of CNTs (i.e. loading in the composite) increases the variations in the electromagnetic scattering, but increasing the losses of the dielectric matrix decreases the variations in in the electromagnetic scattering. The model is finally used in a simple demonstration of how fabrication tolerance can affect the variation of electromagnetic scattering results.

Citation

Physical Review B

Volume

62

Issue

10

Pub Type

Journals

Download Paper

DOI Link

Keywords

electromagnetic scattering, carbon nanotubes, microwave, terahertz, composites, analytical

Citation

Garboczi, E. and Hassan, A. (2014), Electromagnetic scattering from randomly-centered parallel single-walled carbon nanotubes embedded in a dielectric slab, Physical Review B, [online], https://doi.org/10.1109/TAP.2014.2343240 (Accessed December 13, 2024)