An Electrically Actuated Liquid-Metal Gain-Reconfigurable Antenna

Zhang, George B.; Gough, Ryan C.; Moorefield, Matthew R.; Elassy, Kareem S.; Ohta, Aaron T.; Shiroma, Wayne A.

doi:10.1155/2018/7595363

Cited by 7 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(37 reference statements)

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“…The CEW method also has been used in [ 17 ]. The gain of the reconfigurable antenna is controlled by applying a voltage bias through an electrolyte to induce the slug of Galinstan along the channel.…”

Section: Nontoxic Liquid Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An example of gain reconfigurability is by electrically actuating liquid metal placed in a slug using the CEW technique, as proposed in [ 17 ]. This slug is positioned at X mm from the right of the microstrip feed line, which is also the midpoint of the liquid metal slug, as shown in Figure 23 .…”

Section: Design Concepts Of Nontoxic Liquid Metal Reconfigurable Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Gain reconfigurability can generally be achieved by implementing liquid metal slug in patch antennas by correctly choosing its tuning position. In the case of [ 17 ], this coincides with the center microstrip feed line. This resulted in a large gain tuning of 10.33 dB, from −5.9 to 4.43 dB.…”

Section: Design Concepts Of Nontoxic Liquid Metal Reconfigurable Amentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These metallic liquids feature excellent electrical and thermal conductivity, nontoxicity, and unique physical properties. They have been implemented for frequency reconfigurability [ 14 ], polarization reconfigurability [ 15 ], radiation pattern reconfigurability [ 16 ], gain reconfigurability [ 17 ], and the combined reconfiguration of multiple parameters, or compound reconfigurability [ 18 ]. These nontoxic liquid metals can be actuated within an antenna enclosure by applying pressure using a syringe or pump [ 19 ] or via electrical actuation such as electrocapillary actuation (ECA), continuous electrowetting (CEW), and electrochemically controlled capillary (ECC) [ 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Liquid-Based Reconfigurable Antenna Technology: Recent Developments, Challenges and Future

Bakar

Rahim

Soh

et al. 2021

Sensors

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Advances in reconfigurable liquid-based reconfigurable antennas are enabling new possibilities to fulfil the requirements of more advanced wireless communication systems. In this review, a comparative analysis of various state-of-the-art concepts and techniques for designing reconfigurable antennas using liquid is presented. First, the electrical properties of different liquids at room temperature commonly used in reconfigurable antennas are identified. This is followed by a discussion of various liquid actuation techniques in enabling high frequency reconfigurability. Next, the liquid-based reconfigurable antennas in literature used to achieve the different types of reconfiguration will be critically reviewed. These include frequency-, polarization-, radiation pattern-, and compound reconfigurability. The current concepts of liquid-based reconfigurable antennas can be classified broadly into three basic approaches: altering the physical (and electrical) dimensions of antennas using liquid; applying liquid-based sections as reactive loads; implementation of liquids as dielectric resonators. Each concept and their design approaches will be examined, outlining their benefits, limitations, and possible future improvements.

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Section: Nontoxic Liquid Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Design Concepts Of Nontoxic Liquid Metal Reconfigurable Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Design Concepts Of Nontoxic Liquid Metal Reconfigurable Amentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Liquid-Based Reconfigurable Antenna Technology: Recent Developments, Challenges and Future

Bakar

Rahim

Soh

et al. 2021

Sensors

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“…Other main limitations of the LM-based reconfigurability techniques were the low tuning speed and the size of the micropump. Although reconfigurability, in general, can be achieved in a wide range of LM antenna parameters including its gain as reported in [61] for an electrically actuated patch antenna, this section focuses primarily on the frequency, polarization, and pattern reconfigurability aspects of the LM antennas as discussed below.…”

Section: Frequency Reconfigurable Antennasmentioning

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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Surface Modification of Gallium‐Based Liquid Metals: Mechanisms and Applications in Biomedical Sensors and Soft Actuators

Kwon

Truong

Krisnadi

et al. 2020

Advanced Intelligent Systems

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This review focuses on surface modifications of liquid metal (LM). Gallium (Ga) and Ga-based LMs show the promising ability to maintain metallic properties under large mechanical strains when encapsulated inside an elastomer matrix. [1-7] This property is useful in a variety of applications, including wearable/deformable devices, sensors, and soft actuators-the focus of this special issue. There are several motives for creating soft and stretchable devices. For example, devices that are soft and flexible can make conformal contact to human skin for continuous and long-term monitoring. [8-11] Likewise, devices assembled on or within soft robots can maintain function during actuation (bending or stretching) while sensing dynamic motion. Conventional conductors in electronic systems are typically rigid (e.g., copper) and thus poorly suited for soft and stretchable devices. To address this issue, efforts have been taken to create stretchable and deformable conductors using thin metal films with special geometries [12-14] (e.g., pop-up and serpentine electrodes) on a deformable substrate or polymer composites filled with conductive nanomaterials in a stretchable matrix. [15,16] These approaches effectively render rigid materials stretchable through clever engineering of their geometry. However, due to the inherently nonstretchable nature of solid metal films or solid conductive particles, these components/inclusions would add to the overall rigidity of the composite and limit their deformability. LMs are interesting as stretchable conductors because they have metallic conductivity and deformability defined primarily by the encasing material (e.g., elastomer).

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An Electrically Actuated Liquid-Metal Gain-Reconfigurable Antenna

Cited by 7 publications

References 20 publications

Liquid-Based Reconfigurable Antenna Technology: Recent Developments, Challenges and Future

Liquid-Based Reconfigurable Antenna Technology: Recent Developments, Challenges and Future

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Surface Modification of Gallium‐Based Liquid Metals: Mechanisms and Applications in Biomedical Sensors and Soft Actuators

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