I-Corps: Translation Potential of Flexible Electromagnetic Absorbers for Internet of Things (IoT) and Fifth Generation (5G) Cyber-Physical System Protection

Award ID: 2627411

This I-Corps project is based on the development of flexible electromagnetic-absorbing materials designed to protect cyber-physical systems (engineered networks that integrate computation, networking, and physical processes) from electromagnetic interference. Current electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding technologies rely primarily on metallic enclosures and coatings, which impose severe limits on size, weight, cost, and geometric conformityconstraints that are incompatible with emerging high-frequency electronics operating in the 418 gigahertz (GHz) frequency bands. These constraints impede the performance of compact fifth generation (5G) and next-generation (NextG) wireless systems, Internet of Things (IoT) edge-computing platforms, autonomous sensing and navigation systems, and defense electronic architectures, leaving them increasingly vulnerable to unintentional electromagnetic interference (EMI) and intentional electromagnetic interference (IEMI). This technology provides broadband electromagnetic absorption across high-frequency bands, overcoming the limitations of traditional metal-based shielding. In addition, by addressing system vulnerability to intentional and unintentional interference, the technology may support the reliability of next-generation electronic systems. This I-Corps project utilizes experiential learning coupled with first-hand investigation of the industry ecosystem to assess the translation potential of flexible electromagnetic-absorbing composites for cyber-physical system protection. The technology enables scalable manufacturing of lightweight, conformal polymer composites containing magnetic nano-ferrite and carbon-based fillers, which can be processed as 3D-printable filaments or ultra-thin flexible coatings. These materials provide broadband electromagnetic absorption across high-frequency bands, overcoming the limitations of traditional metal-based shielding in size, weight, cost, and geometric conformity. By precisely controlling filler morphology, dispersion, and percolation thresholds, the material achieves tunable impedance matching, broadband absorption, and improved thermal transport while maintaining mechanical flexibility and corrosion resistance. Unlike rigid metallic shielding, these composites can be extruded into three-dimensional (3D) printing filaments (~1.75 millimeters (mm) diameter) or processed into ultra-thin flexible coatings (
NSF Program Director: Ruth Shuman