• Reconfigurable Polarization Slot Antenna Mounts
• Reconfigurable Polarization Slot Antenna Booster
• Reconfigurable Polarization Slot Antenna Signal Booster

Reconfigurability is a vital feature of future agile millimeter wave systems for sensing, imaging, wireless, and satellite communications. Reconfigurable antennas are an integral part of such systems as they can control polarization, frequency, radiation pattern, or characteristic impedance.

A CPW-fed circular polarization reconfigurable antenna is proposed in this paper. The antenna consists of two symmetrically placed inverted L-shaped slots. By using a T-type bias device to change the bias states of two PIN diodes which connect the two slots with the feed port respectively, right-hand circular polarization (RHCP) and left-hand. In this communication, a microfluidically frequency- and polarization-reconfigurable slot antenna using liquid metal (LM) is proposed. The polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) structure with narrow-banded microchannels is loaded on the printed circuit board (PCB) of a square slot antenna, providing condition for reconfiguration.

Reconfigurable Polarization Slot Antenna Mounts

A reconfigurable polarization antenna includes a microwave dielectric substrate having a ground plane that has a centrally located slot with five conducting patches, four of which form an evenly spaced apart perimeter group with a gap between each and the fifth, centrally positioned conducting patch. A spiral slot antenna fed by coplanar waveguide (CPW), using the magnetic °ow in the spiral slots for broadband circular polarization demonstrates that single-arm spiral slot antenna exhibits the circular polarization characteristics 12, with a worse circular performance in comparison with the structure in 11. Nevertheless, the structure. Reconfigurable Antennas and RF Components at Millimeter Wave Reconfigurability is a vital feature of future agile millimeter wave systems for sensing, imaging, wireless, and satellite communications. Reconfigurable antennas are an integral part of such systems as they can control polarization, frequency, radiation pattern, or characteristic.

Paraffin-Based Reconfigurable Components at Millimeter Wave

Figure 1: Multiphysiscs simulation results for Von Mises stress and temperature distribution of the paraffin PCM actuator for input voltage of 2 V.

The main goal of this project is to design low-loss millimeter wave (mmW) RF components using novel materials such as paraffin. Alkane or paraffin is an organic phase change material (PCM) that exhibits low a dielectric loss, (tan⁡δ=6.6E-4 at 110 GHz), with a relative dielectric constant of 2.26. Paraffin is also a mechanical PCM that undergoes a 15% volumetric change through its solid-liquid phase change.

Due to its unique electrical and mechanical properties, paraffin PCM variable capacitors are very attractive for designing reconfigurable antennas and distributed loaded line phase shifters at mmW band.

Figure 2: Micrograph of the fabricated reconfigurable antenna.

In our group, we have developed a continuously reconfigurable antenna at 100 GHz by monolithically integrating the paraffin PCM capacitors with a slot antenna. Designed antenna has a reconfiguration range of 96–102.2 GHz with a maximum gain of 3 dBi. (Figures 1—2)

In addition, we have also developed a distributed loaded line phase shifter based on a new class of electro-thermally actuated RF MEMS devices using paraffin PCM. Designed phase shifter has a figure-of merit of 71.8°/dB achieved while maintaining a return loss more than 12 dB.

Figure 3: Multiphysiscs simulation results for Von Mises stress and temperature distribution of the paraffin PCM actuator for input voltage of 5 V.

Reconfigurable Polarization Slot Antenna Booster

Designed phase shifter has a maximum insertion loss of 5 dB for a 360° of phase shift. (Figure 3)

© Prof. Nima Ghalichechian's Group

Related Papers

B. Ghassemiparvin and N. Ghalichechian, “Reconfigurable Millimeter-wave Antennas using Paraffin Phase Change Materials,” European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), Davos, Switzerland, 10-15 Apr, 2016. DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/EuCAP.2016.7481595 (Download PDF)

B. Ghassemiparvin and N. Ghalichechian, “Novel Paraffin-Based 100-GHz Variable Capacitors for Reconfigurable Antennas,' European Conference on Antennas and Propogation (EuCAP), Paris, France, 19-24 Mar, 2017.DOI:https://doi.org/10.23919/EuCAP.2017.7928379(Download PDF)

Reconfigurable Polarization Slot Antenna Signal Booster

B. Ghassemiparvin and N. Ghalichechian, 'W-Band True-Time Delay Phase Shifters Using Paraffin Microactuators,' European Conference on Antennas and Propogation (EuCAP), London, UK, 9-13 Apr, 2018.