Structural, magnetic and microwave absorption properties of natural iron sand
Erfan Handoko(1*), Iwan Sugihartono(1), Mangasi Alion Marpaung(1), Setia Budi(2), Riser Fahdiran(1), Maulana Randa(3), Zulkarnain Jalil(4), and Mudrik Alaydrus(5)

1) Dept. of Physics, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jalan Rawamangun Muka 13220, Jakarta, Indonesia
*erfan[at]unj.ac.id
2) Dept.of Chemistry, Universitas Negeri Jakarta, Jalan Rawamangun Muka 13220, Jakarta, Indonesia
3) Balitbang Kementerian Pertahanan Republik Indonesia, Jakarta, Indonesia
4) Dept. of Physics, Syiah Kuala University, Banda Aceh, Indonesia
5) Dept.of Electrical Engineering, Universitas Mercu Buana, Jalan Meruya Selatan No.1, Jakarta, Indonesia

Abstract

This paper present the development and characterization of the natural iron sand as a microwave absorber. In order to develop a new microwave absorbing paints in the 8.2–12.4 GHz range, the iron sand sample was prepared through mechanical milling process. The samples were characterized with X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Permagraph and vector network analyzer (VNA). The reflection loss (RL) was calculated and simulated for different thicknesses of the material using the complex permittivity and permeability and found the broadband characteristics with minimum absorption. The results indicated that these paints are very useful in military applications.

Keywords: iron sand, microwave absorbing paints, reflection loss.

Topic: Physics