Planar Saltwater Analysis for Transparent Electromagnetic Shielding Applications

Optically transparent electromagnetic applications, such as EMC windows, require high optical transparency (OT) while maintaining good electrical performance which is difficult to achieve with conventional transparent electrodes (TEs). In this paper, we proposed a novel planar saltwater as a solution to overcome the difficulty. The electrical and optical characterizations of the planar saltwater are experimentally investigated with good agreement to theoretical prediction. The saltwater has a high average OT of 91.8% which is highest among conventional TEs. Moreover, the planar saltwater shows a shielding effectiveness (SE) above 22 dB with only 3 mm of thickness in the C-band. The SE can be significantly improved by an increase in the thickness of planar saltwater. Along with other advantages of cheap, safe, easy access, and flexible performance, the saltwater can be considered as a potential candidate for transparent electromagnetic shielding applications.