Super-thin cloaks based on microwave networks

In this paper, we propose a new route to super-thin electromagnetic cloaks based on microwave networks. The cloak is composed of microstrip-connected metallic patches wrapping the cloaked object. Under illumination, EM waves are coupled into the cloaking layer, transferred around the cloaked object and finally retransmitted into the shadowed region. In this way, non-perfect but quite desirable cloaking effects can be achieved. A λ40 thick cloak operating at 3.63 GHz is presented to verify this design method. Due to small thickness and easy implementation, such cloaks can be readily used in noninvasive sensing, RCS reduction etc.