Microwave Response of a Microstrip Circuit Embedding Carbon Nanotube Films

Abstract

This paper investigates the microwave range response of microstrip circuit where a film of carbon nanotubes is embedded into a microstrip-like circuit. Such a nanomaterial, as well as graphene, is currently embedded into planar structures like patch antennas, to exploit its novel features as, for instance, easy tunability. In view of these applications, in this paper it is analyzed the dependence of the scattering parameters from the geometrical and physical parameters of the circuit. The analysis is carried out either by means of experimental characterization via microstrip technique, and of numerical simulations with a full-wave electromagnetic simulation tool. In addition, by using these two results and by using structural characterization of the nanomaterial equivalent, an equivalent complex permittivity is retrieved, describing the embedded film.