Piezo-absorbing effect of microwave absorbing composites with carbonyl iron particles as the filler Anew piezo-absorbing composite was fabricated with silicone rubber and spherical or flaky carbonyl iron particles (CIPs). The complex permittivity and permeability of the composites, under variable compressive strain, werem easured using av ector network analyzer in the frequency of 2-18GHz and the reflection loss ( RL)c alculated to test the piezo-absorbing effect. The results show that, under compressive strain, the complex permittivity decreased slightly because of the breakdown of the original conductive network, whereas the complex permeability increased, but the enhancement mechanism was different.Inthe case of spherical CIPs/rubber composite, this was caused by the surface effect of the absorbents, and in the caseo ff laky CIPs/rubber compositebythe orientation of the flaky particles. As the compressive strain was applied, the RL value and the absorbing band changed slightly with thickness of 1mmor2mm. As the applied strains decreasedthe thickness of the composites,the absorption band ( RL < -10 dB) broadened and the minimum RL decreased.C. Zhang et al.: Piezo-absorbing effect of microwave absorbing composites with carbonyli ron particles as the filler Int.