Polypyrrole-coated fibers as microwave and millimeterwave obscurants

Microwave and millimeterwave obscurants based on typical millimeterwave materials do not environmentally degrade with respect to their physical and electrical properties. The use of conductive polymer-coated films and fibers with inherent environmental instabilities are being investigated as possible alternatives. Achieving the optimum electrical performance is highly dependent upon the polymer/dopant combination, deposition conditions, morphology and volume of the coating that is used. The electrical performance can be assessed by complex permittivity analysis and this was performed on samples of compacted conductive polymer powders. Several conductive polymer-coated fiber systems were also investigated via thermal analysis. The effects of processing conditions on performance and stability were studied.