Flexible and Scalable Additively Manufactured Tile-Based Phased Arrays for Satellite Communication and 50 mm Wave Applications

Frontiers in Flexible and Shape-Changing Arrays

“…Two fully integrated RFIC-based mm-Wave phased arrays were recently published with space-borne communication as their intended application. A tileable, fully integrated flexible phased array receiver was shown in [43]. The 32 element array operates at 19 GHz, uses inkjet printed conductors and is designed for future scalability.…”

“…The ideal electrical interface is minimally intrusive, such as a small ribbon of flat flexible cables interfacing over a narrow section of a single side of the shapechanging array as found in [70], [72]. Less optimally, [43], [44], [68] require cables or connectors on multiple edges of their flexible substrate. These cables and connectors constrain the array mechanically.…”

“…The characteristics for these targets were selected based the needs of three potential applications of shape-changing arrays. For a space deployable arrays (such as the space solar power arrays proposed in [45], [46] or the communication arrays of [43], [44]), low mass and high power are priorities while stretchability and bending are only needed to compactly store the system prior to deployment. A deployable terrestrial array serving as a rapid-response communication or sensing hub benefits from bending to create a horizon to horizon field-of-view but minimizing its low mass and thickness is less important.…”

“…These capabilities allow arrays to dynamically conform to changing surfaces such as the human body as active fabric, flutter in the wind like sails, deploy rapidly to replaced damaged communication infrastructure, or deploy in space for sensing, communications, or power transfer. Both smaller arrays for satellite communications [43], [44] and ultra-large scale arrays for space-based solar power [45], [46], [47] require the light weight and physical reconfigurability offered by shape-changing arrays. Wearable systems with wireless communication require flexible antennas and would benefit from the electronically steered beams and reconfigurable patterns offered by shape-changing phased arrays.…”

Additively manufactured flexible on-package phased array antennas for 5G/mmWave wearable and conformal digital twin and massive MIMO applications

“…Design and fabrication. To demonstrate the concept of smart packaging integration using the aforementioned additive manufacturing techniques, a 2.5D ultra-wideband (UWB) antenna array with embedded beamformer IC and the microfluidic cooling channel was fabricated on 3D printed Polypropylene substrate and Flexible 80A substrate 29 . Figure 6a-c show the overall design and cross-sectional schematic.…”