A MICROWAVE SHUTTER USING CONDUCTIVE POLYMERS

An all solid state electrochromic shutter was made incorporating a con ductive polymer to modulate the microwave energy. The active polymer l ayer was polyaniline doped with camphorsulfonic acid which was switche d between its conductive and insulting state using Li+ as the mobile i on and LixMn2O4 as the counter electrode. Changes in the transmission and reflection of X-band microwave energy were measured as a function of time and bias applied between the electrodes. With switching voltag es up to +/- 3 V modulation of nearly 10 dB was obtained in 10 minutes , but the cycle lifetime was limited.