Realization of 3-D Flexible Antennas Using Liquid Metal and Additive Printing Technologies

Cosker, Mathieu; Lizzi, Léonardo; Ferrero, Fabien; Staraj, Robert; Ribero, Jean‐Marc

doi:10.1109/lawp.2016.2615568

Cited by 53 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…The commercially available Galinstan is yet another liquid metal alloy widely used as the antenna-radiating element [30][31][32]. It comprises of 68.5% gallium, 21.5% indium and 10% tin with an electrical conductivity similar to EGaIn [33,34].…”

Section: Conductive Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PDMS is also used as an encapsulation layer in antennas after the antenna has been designed using other methods [20,43,44]. Several other commercially available flexible materials include EcoFlex silicone rubber [45] and thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) based NinjaFlex [31], which are generally 3D printed to have desired LM patterning features.…”

Section: Substrate Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This was aimed at forming a radio-frequency (RF) coil antenna to transfer power and data while being flexible and elastic in nature. polyurethane (TPU) based NinjaFlex [31], which are generally 3D printed to have desired LM patterning features.…”

Section: Soft/photo-lithographymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In [31], Galinstan and 3D-printed NinjaFlex substrate were used to fabricate an inverted-F antenna (IFA). The fluidic channels present within the substrate were injected with Galinstan to form the radiating element, as shown in Figure 4.…”

Section: Printingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Paracha

Butt

Alghamdi

et al. 2019

Sensors

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This work reviews design aspects of liquid metal antennas and their corresponding applications. In the age of modern wireless communication technologies, adaptability and versatility have become highly attractive features of any communication device. Compared to traditional conductors like copper, the flow property and lack of elasticity limit of conductive fluids, makes them an ideal alternative for applications demanding mechanically flexible antennas. These fluidic properties also allow innovative antenna fabrication techniques like 3D printing, injecting, or spraying the conductive fluid on rigid/flexible substrates. Such fluids can also be easily manipulated to implement reconfigurability in liquid antennas using methods like micro pumping or electrochemically controlled capillary action as compared to traditional approaches like high-frequency switching. In this work, we discuss attributes of widely used conductive fluids, their novel patterning/fabrication techniques, and their corresponding state-of-the-art applications.Most of the conventional antennas are fabricated by etching the copper cladding on the rigid substrates to form static conductor shapes. Such antennas are highly efficient but suffer from irreversible structure deformation and even damage when being bent or stretched beyond certain limits [3]. As alternatives, several types of copper-coated polymer substrates such as Kapton, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) films have been investigated to accommodate the need in flexible applications such as antennas. Similar to conventional substrates, the electrical properties of these substrates also degrade after severe bending/stretching, which in turn reduces antenna efficiency. Another option is polymer-based materials such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), which has been typically used in combination with copper foils to realize highly flexible antennas. However, the semi-rigid copper foils may potentially suffer from irreversible deformation after certain bending cycles. Alternatively, liquid metals can be injected into microfluidic channels to fabricate highly flexible and mechanically stable antennas without compromising their electrical properties [4].In [5], a broader review of fluidics-based tuning methods for the development of microwave components was presented. Although, this included a review of antennas based on dielectric/conductive fluids, it primarily covered flexible and frequency-tunable antenna/arrays and lacked depth on polarization/pattern reconfigurability techniques. Additionally, discussion of recent advancements in state-of-the-art liquid metal applications was also missing in [5]. In [6], a mini review of flexible and stretchable antennas based on textile materials was discussed. Here, the focus was on the benefits of conductive filler-based elastomers used in antennas for bio-integrated electronics applications and the trade-off between antenna stretchability and its performance. However, a detailed review of materials, novel fabrication te...

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Section: Conductive Fluidsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Substrate Materialsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Soft/photo-lithographymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Printingmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Paracha

Butt

Alghamdi

et al. 2019

Sensors

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“…The above‐mentioned antennas and filters are not considered flexibility. Based on the flexibility of the liquid metal and elastomeric substrate, a flexible microstrip patch antenna and a 3D flexible inverted‐F antenna are proposed. Like an antenna, a filter is also an important microwave element for frequency selection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A flexible liquid-metal alloy bandpass filter

Guo

Chen

et al. 2018

Int J RF Microw Comput Aided Eng

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This article presents a liquid‐metal Galinstan alloy bandpass filter (BPF) with good flexibility, which is fabricated by an improved soft lithography process. The Galinstan alloy is enclosed in the microfluidic channels of elastomeric polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrates. Together with the PDMS substrates, the Galinstan alloy based filter features bending, twisting and stretching capabilities along any direction. A second‐order open‐loop resonator filter with 2.4 GHz center frequency and 15% fractional bandwidth was designed and fabricated to verify this concept. Experiments show that frequency response of the filter is almost unaffected in the case of bending of the different radii or twisting, while its center frequency slightly shifts down in the stretching condition. The proposed filter can be used for the flexible and conformal electronics.

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On the Wetting States of Low Melting Point Metal Galinstan® on Silicon Microstructured Surfaces

Davis

Ndao

2017

Adv Eng Mater

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The primary goal of this article is to measure the wetting characteristics of a low melting point metal to determine the efficacy of this type of material for possible use in thermal energy storage applications. Galinstan 1 , a commercially available alloy consisting of Gallium, Indium, and Tin is subjected to contact angle measurements on various silicon surfaces at varying temperatures. Due to the oxidation characteristics of Galinstan, all experiments are conducted in an inert nitrogen environment (<0.5 ppm oxygen) to maintain fluid-like properties. This work finds that although contact angle changes with substrate and surface structure, temperature has no observable effect on contact angle. Contact angles range from 141 on smooth silicon to greater than 160 on silicon micropillars. Although a temperature dependence is not observed over the range of temperatures studied, having wetting properties of Galinstan on various surfaces is a step toward better understanding the capabilities of this and similar materials in energy management.

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Realization of 3-D Flexible Antennas Using Liquid Metal and Additive Printing Technologies

Cited by 53 publications

References 12 publications

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

Liquid Metal Antennas: Materials, Fabrication and Applications

A flexible liquid-metal alloy bandpass filter

On the Wetting States of Low Melting Point Metal Galinstan® on Silicon Microstructured Surfaces

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