Microfluidically Frequency & Polarization Reconfigurable Patch Antennas

Microfluidically frequency reconfigurable and polarization reconfigurable probe-fed patch antennas are presented in this paper. For the frequency reconfigurable antenna, a frequency tuning bandwidth of 14% (4.35-4.5 GHz) can be achieved by continuous loading of liquid metal inside the additively manufactured microfluidic channels on top of patch slots. During the frequency reconfigurability, the bandwidth remains greater than 5%, the gain remains higher than 7.5 dBi and there is polarization consistency over the complete tuning range. For the second antenna, switching between left-hand and right-hand circular polarization is demonstrated by alternatively inserting or removing metallic ink inside 3D printed Polylactic Acid (PLA) channels. For both polarization states stable reflection coefficient with -10 dB S-11 bandwidth of 9.6% (4.48-4.93 GHz) and 3-dB axial ratio bandwidth (ARBW) of 5.2% (4.48-4.72 GHz, are achieved.

Automated summary

This paper presents microfluidically frequency reconfigurable and polarization reconfigurable probe-fed patch antennas. By loading liquid metal and metallic ink inside microfluidic channels and 3D printed PLA channels respectively, the antennas demonstrate tunable frequency and polarization with stable performance.