Fluidically Tunable Frequency Selective/Phase Shifting Surfaces for High-Power Microwave Applications

We examine fluidically tunable periodic structures acting as highly-selective frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) or spatial phase shifters (SPSs) capable of providing phase shifts in the range of 0 degrees-360 degrees. These devices are multi-layer periodic structures composed of non-resonant unit cells. The tuning mechanism is based on integrating small, movable liquid metal droplets with the unit cells of the periodic structure. By moving these liquid metal droplets by small distances within the unit cell, the structure's frequency response can be tuned continuously. Using this technique, a fluidically tunable FSS with a fifth-order bandpass response is designed and its tuning performance is examined for various incidence angles and polarizations of the incident EM wave. Additionally, electronically tunable counterparts of the same structure are also designed and their tuning performances are examined under short-duration high-power excitation conditions. It is demonstrated that such electronically tunable FSSs/PSSs demonstrate extremely nonlinear responses. Since the fluidically tunable structure examined in this work does not use any nonlinear devices, its response is expected to remain linear for such short-duration high-power excitation conditions. The tuning performances of these fluidically tunable periodic structures are also experimentally demonstrated by fabricating three prototypes and characterizing their responses in a waveguide environment.