A compact reconfigurable microstrip slot antenna with switchable single and dual band notch functions for ultra‐wideband (UWB) applications is presented in this study. In the proposed structure, an additional resonance is excited by etching two symmetrical notches on the feed‐line and thereby a UWB characteristic is obtained. Then, by cutting two slots on the radiating patch and embedding two positive‐intrinsic‐negative (PIN) diodes along these slots, switchable single and dual band notch performances are added to the antenna performance. By changing the bias states of the PIN diodes, the antenna is capable of exhibiting four different performances of UWB spectrum coverage, UWB coverage with single rejection of the wireless local area network (WLAN) band, UWB coverage with single rejection of the WiMAX and C‐band spectrum, and UWB coverage with dual band notch function at the WLAN, the WiMAX and the C‐band frequencies. Good agreement between the simulated and the measured results is achieved at different performances of the antenna. The designed antenna has a small size of 20 × 20 mm2 and the measured results reveal that the fabricated antenna has good radiation behaviour in the UWB frequency spectrum with switchable band notch functions at 3.15–3.85 and 5.43–6.1 GHz which can eliminate the UWB frequency band interference with the WiMAX, the C‐band and the WLAN systems.

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Chalcogenide glasses are one of the most versatile materials that have been widely researched because of their flexible optical, chemical, electronic, and phase change properties. Their application is usually in the form of thin films, which work as active layers in sensors and memory devices. In this work, we investigate the formulation of nanoparticle ink of Ge–Se chalcogenide glasses and its potential applications. The process steps reported in this work describe nanoparticle ink formulation from chalcogenide glasses, its application via inkjet printing and dip-coating methods and sintering to manufacture phase change devices. We report data regarding nanoparticle production by ball milling and ultrasonication along with the essential characteristics of the formed inks, like contact angle and viscosity. The printed chalcogenide glass films were characterized by Raman spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, energy dispersive spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. The printed films exhibited similar compositional, structural, electronic and optical properties as the thermally evaporated thin films. The crystallization processes of the printed films are discussed compared to those obtained by vacuum thermal deposition. We demonstrate the formation of printed thin films using nanoparticle inks, low-temperature sintering and proof for the first time, their application in electronic and photonic temperature sensors utilizing their phase change property. This work adds chalcogenide glasses to the list of inkjet printable materials, thus offering an easy way to form arbitrary device structures for optical and electronic applications.

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We demonstrate a novel chalcogenide glass (ChG)-capped optical fiber temperature sensor capable of operating within harsh environment. The sensor architecture utilizes the heat-induced phase change (amorphous-to-crystalline) property of ChGs, which rapidly (80–100 ns) changes the optical properties of the material. The sensor response to temperature variation around the phase change of the ChG cap at the tip of the fiber provides abrupt changes in the reflected power intensity. This temperature is indicative of the temperature at the sensing node. We present the sensing performance of six different compositions of ChGs and a method to interpret the temperature profile between 440 ∘C and 600 ∘C in real-time using an array structure. The unique radiation-hardness property of ChGs makes the devices compatible with high-temperature and high-radiation environments, such as monitoring the cladding temperature of Light Water (LWR) or Sodium-cooled Fast (SFR) reactors.