Honeycomb sandwich structures (HSSs) are excellent candidates for light and efficient microwave-absorbing materials. In this work, we design an HSS using SiO2 fiber-reinforced epoxy resin (SiO2f/ER) composites as both the top and bottom layers to improve the impedance matching with free space. Target dielectric properties of the honeycomb and coated lossy material of the HSS were calculated based on the multilayer transmission line theory, metal backplane model, and homogenization theory. In addition, the interface effect between the SiO2f/ER and honeycomb of the HSS was discussed theoretically, experimentally, and numerically, indicating a 1-4% contribution of microwave absorption resulting from the interface. By analyzing the equivalent resistance, equivalent capacitance, as well as equivalent inductance, the enhanced microwave absorption of HSS is attributed to the formation of the interfacial transition zone, which benefits both impedance matching and electromagnetic loss.
Keywords: honeycomb sandwich structure; interface effect; microwave absorption.