A Liquid-Metal Polarization-Pattern-Reconfigurable Dipole Antenna

Zhang, George B.; Gough, Ryan C.; Moorefield, Matthew R.; Cho, Kevin J.; Ohta, Aaron T.; Shiroma, Wayne A.

doi:10.1109/lawp.2017.2773076

Cited by 67 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…The commercially available Galinstan is yet another liquid metal alloy widely used as the antenna-radiating element [30][31][32]. It comprises of 68.5% gallium, 21.5% indium and 10% tin with an electrical conductivity similar to EGaIn [33,34].…”

Section: Conductive Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Paracha

Butt

Alghamdi

et al. 2019

Sensors

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This work reviews design aspects of liquid metal antennas and their corresponding applications. In the age of modern wireless communication technologies, adaptability and versatility have become highly attractive features of any communication device. Compared to traditional conductors like copper, the flow property and lack of elasticity limit of conductive fluids, makes them an ideal alternative for applications demanding mechanically flexible antennas. These fluidic properties also allow innovative antenna fabrication techniques like 3D printing, injecting, or spraying the conductive fluid on rigid/flexible substrates. Such fluids can also be easily manipulated to implement reconfigurability in liquid antennas using methods like micro pumping or electrochemically controlled capillary action as compared to traditional approaches like high-frequency switching. In this work, we discuss attributes of widely used conductive fluids, their novel patterning/fabrication techniques, and their corresponding state-of-the-art applications.Most of the conventional antennas are fabricated by etching the copper cladding on the rigid substrates to form static conductor shapes. Such antennas are highly efficient but suffer from irreversible structure deformation and even damage when being bent or stretched beyond certain limits [3]. As alternatives, several types of copper-coated polymer substrates such as Kapton, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films have been investigated to accommodate the need in flexible applications such as antennas. Similar to conventional substrates, the electrical properties of these substrates also degrade after severe bending/stretching, which in turn reduces antenna efficiency. Another option is polymer-based materials such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which has been typically used in combination with copper foils to realize highly flexible antennas. However, the semi-rigid copper foils may potentially suffer from irreversible deformation after certain bending cycles. Alternatively, liquid metals can be injected into microfluidic channels to fabricate highly flexible and mechanically stable antennas without compromising their electrical properties [4].In [5], a broader review of fluidics-based tuning methods for the development of microwave components was presented. Although, this included a review of antennas based on dielectric/conductive fluids, it primarily covered flexible and frequency-tunable antenna/arrays and lacked depth on polarization/pattern reconfigurability techniques. Additionally, discussion of recent advancements in state-of-the-art liquid metal applications was also missing in [5]. In [6], a mini review of flexible and stretchable antennas based on textile materials was discussed. Here, the focus was on the benefits of conductive filler-based elastomers used in antennas for bio-integrated electronics applications and the trade-off between antenna stretchability and its performance. However, a detailed review of materials, novel fabrication te...

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Section: Conductive Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Paracha

Butt

Alghamdi

et al. 2019

Sensors

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show abstract

“…Finally, there is a frequency or polarization reconfigurable antenna using fluidic tuning components. The variable method with fluidic tuning components physically changes the structure by using a material with the characteristics of both liquid and metal . A frequency reconfigurable antenna is proposed, which reconfigures the length of the feed line and the length of the radiating aperture of the slot antenna by adjusting the liquid metal actuated by pressure‐driven air bubbles .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A frequency reconfigurable antenna is proposed, which reconfigures the length of the feed line and the length of the radiating aperture of the slot antenna by adjusting the liquid metal actuated by pressure‐driven air bubbles . A polarization reconfigurable antenna is proposed, which can be reconfigured using liquid metal for five discrete states with varying polarizations and null directions . A glass dielectric resonator with a liquid‐metal polarizer is introduced for a polarization reconfigurable antenna …”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The variable method with fluidic tuning components physically changes the structure by using a material with the characteristics of both liquid and metal. [18][19][20][21][22][23][24] A frequency reconfigurable antenna is proposed, which reconfigures the length of the feed line and the length of the radiating aperture of the slot antenna by adjusting the liquid metal actuated by pressure-driven air bubbles. 24 A polarization reconfigurable antenna is proposed, which can be reconfigured using liquid metal for five discrete states with varying polarizations and null directions.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…24 A polarization reconfigurable antenna is proposed, which can be reconfigured using liquid metal for five discrete states with varying polarizations and null directions. 22 A glass dielectric resonator with a liquid-metal polarizer is introduced for a polarization reconfigurable antenna. 23 In this article, we propose a liquid-metal-fluidically polarization reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Liquid‐metal‐fluidically polarization reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna

Lee

Son

Lim

et al. 2019

Micro & Optical Tech Letters

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In this article, we propose a liquid‐metal‐fluidically polarization reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna. The edge‐truncated patch is designed to generate circular polarization (CP), and two microfluidic channels are designed for the polarization reconfigurability. Therefore, the polarization of the proposed antenna is switched to linear polarization (LP) from the CP when the liquid metal is injected on the microfluidic channels. The microfluidic channels are fabricated on the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) material, and eutectic gallium‐indium (EGaIn) is used as the liquid metal. The performance of the proposed antenna is numerically and experimentally demonstrated. The measured 10‐dB impedance bandwidth is 1.579‐1.619 GHz and 1.563‐1.587 GHz for the CP and LP modes, respectively. At the CP mode, the measured axial ratio (AR) and RHCP gain at 1.595 GHz are 2.267 dB and 6.59 dBic, respectively. At the LP mode, the measured AR and peak gain at 1.585 GHz are 12.335 dB and 5.18 dBi, respectively.

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Compact Reconfigurable Antennas

Noghanian¹,

Sharma²

2021

Multifunctional Antennas and Arrays for Wireless Communication Systems

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A Liquid-Metal Polarization-Pattern-Reconfigurable Dipole Antenna

Cited by 67 publications

References 15 publications

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Liquid‐metal‐fluidically polarization reconfigurable microstrip patch antenna

Compact Reconfigurable Antennas

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