Absorption Effects on Shielding Effectiveness Through Anechoic and Reverberation Chamber Measurements

This study investigates the impact of planar electromagnetic absorbing materials on the shielding effectiveness of enclosures under both line-of-sight and multipath conditions. The anechoic chamber setup is used to measure reflectivity under fixed polarization and incident angles, whereas the reverberation chamber setup emulates real-world conditions with variable incident angles and polarization to assess shielding effectiveness, quality factor, and absorption cross section. Currently, absorber materials are tested in anechoic chambers often exhibit deviations in performance in practical applications, leading to a trial-and-error approach to material selection that reduces efficiency and predictability. To address this challenge, this study takes an initial step toward establishing a framework for evaluating absorber material performance and its influence on enclosure shielding, ensuring more reliable and predictable performance in real-world applications.