Ultra-fast reconfigurable antennas with phase change materials

Phase-change materials and in particularly vanadium dioxide have recently been reported to provide a suitable mechanism for fast switching related to reconfigurable antennas. This paper describes two such reconfigurable antennas where a very small and thin film of phase change material was used to alter the antennas resonant frequency. Simulated and measured results from two fabricated prototypes are presented. The integration challenges and the future applications of vanadium dioxide will be discussed.