Measured backscatter from conductive thin films deposited on fibrous substrates

The functional dependence of the electromagnetic backscatter by thin, straight, dielectric fibers with metallic coatings was measured as a function of coating thickness and conductivity at a wavelength of 0.86 cm (35 GHz). Cu and Ni coatings were applied to fibrous glass substrates (having a nominal diameter of 5.50 /spl mu/m) using an evaporative process. The thicknesses of the thin films were directly measured by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and ranged from 0.02 to 0.70 /spl mu/m. Measurements were conducted using single fibers. Measured quantities agreed well with calculations based on previously developed theory.