Reconfigurable liquid-metal antenna with integrated surface-tension actuation

Abstract

A new design for a reconfigurable antenna using electrically actuated liquid-metal tuning elements is presented. Liquid-metal slugs vary the electrical length of a resonant slot aperture, changing the operational frequency of the antenna across a 36% tunable bandwidth. The fluidic channels are fabricated with polydimethylsiloxane and are fully sealed with integrated DC actuation pads, providing enhanced versatility over previous designs and enabling future miniaturization.