Making SRC's PolyIron Microwave Absorber

Careful Preparation and Quality Control

SRC's PolyIron is a carefully controlled mixture of pure iron oxide particles in a specially formulated low out-gassing epoxy binder.

Typically prepared in small batches, the materials are measured, weighed and blended carefully to obtain the proper proportion of metal filler and to achieve the right characteristics for the customer's application.

In its final form, PolyIron microwave absorber is thin, flexible, able to tolerate high operating temperatures, and it is easily fabricated even into very small, precise parts.

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Uniform Consistency

Magnetic Loading Combined with Dielectric Strength

Here we see the next step, inside a vacuum chamber, where air bubbles from the mixing process are eliminated.

The electromagnetic principle which governs the efficacy of microwave absorber depends upon the metal particles being very uniformly dispersed throughout the binder.

This "magnetic loading" of the material gives PolyIron microwave absorber the ability to attenuate near-field magnetic emission, which occurs commonly on the metal walls of enclosures, while also enabling the material to be directly attached to the device or the metal enclosure, because PolyIron is non-conductive.

Precision Fabrication

Die-cut or Molded 3D Precision Parts

This is a picture of one of the many molds or "tools" which SRC fabricates in its own precision machine shop.

Injection molding of PolyIron microwave absorber gives the designer/engineer the ability to place the material directly in contact with the device, enclosure, trace or source of the EMI.

Because SRC creates its own precision tooling, the thickness, part geometry and part tolerance can be "fit" within very small openings (waveguide) or enclosures, or directly as a "cap" on a noisy IC or device-according to our customer's drawings.

Injection Molding

Special "Tool Steel Molds"

Once the material is ready for molding, it is carefully injected into the voids of the tool steel mold.

The mold must be free of imperfections, have smooth passages to allow material to fill all voids, and the plates must fit precisely to form the correct part geometries.

Molds of the correct dimension are used to create either flat "sheet" product that is further cut to shape, or to make 3D part geometries.

Process Control: Controlling Heat, Pressure and Cure; Temperature and cure times are controlled according to specification.
Through years of experience producing many different microwave absorber products, SRC has learned how to optimize each process, and to control environmental variables like humidity, pressure, temperature and cure times in order to assure the right product quality.

Voila!: Final Part; Here is a picture (slightly larger than real size) of one of many microwave absorber custom parts made by SRC.
This particular part is made to form fit a device within test equipment for the wireless communications industry.