ARL 25-19

Invention Disclosure
ARL 25-19

TITLE OF INVENTION:

Ultra-lightweight Flexible High-K Patterned Metalized Thin-film Based Dielectric Material for RF Microwave Applications

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY OVERVIEW:

(The purpose of this overview is to provide a brief summarized overview of the invention as described in this invention disclosure document and a direct explanation on what is new about the invention and information about potential military and commercial uses)

1. What is this Invention?

(e.g., a short 3-sentence “summarized” description as a more “detailed” description will be required further into this invention disclosure)
This invention proposes a novel way to synthesize ultra-lightweight flexible high-k dielectric material. This engineered material can be realized by layering patterned metalized thin films, such as aluminized mylar. The pattern can be grid-based (rectangular or curvilinear). The dielectric constant can also be tuned locally by adjusting the gridspacing in each layered metalized film. The proposed high-k dielectric material is a key component in developing the next generation of lightweight and flexible RF systems.

2. What is the basic premise of the design?
The premise of the high-k dielectric material is the patterned metalized thin-films. Unlike the conventional high-k ceramic-based material which is heavy rigid and brittle. The proposed engineered material is composed of layered patterned metalized films. The dielectric constant can also be tuned locally by varying the grid-spacing in each layered metalized film. The pattern determines the dielectric constant of the material which can be designed to achieve a wide range from low-k to high-k material and varies inversely with gap spacing.

3. What is new about this Invention?
Most high-k dielectric materials available in the market are ceramic-based materials. For ceramics are known to be heavy, rigid and brittle because of their strong directional ionic and covalent bonds. Ceramics can only be molded into rigid conformal shapes under high temperature and pressure. To address those issues, we proposed the use of stacking layered patterned metalized films to compose the material. The dielectric constant can also be tuned locally by varying the grid-spacing in each layered metalized film. Engineered high-k dielectric materials can be designed to achieve the same dielectric constant as ceramic-based materials, while maintaining a lightweight and flexible form as a thin-film.

4. Has this Invention been verified?