Liquid Metal Reconfigurable Phased Array Antenna

Alkaraki, Shaker; Lin, Quan Wei; Erman, Fuad; Jilani, Syeda Fizzah; Wang, Zhengpeng; Wong, Hang; Kelly, James R.

Abstract

A design for a phased array antenna using liquid metal (LM) technology is presented. The phased array antenna uses substrate integrated waveguides (SIW) feeding structure to excite a 1×4 printed dipole antenna array. The phase distribution on SIW power dividers is manged using LM shorting vias inside the SIW. The integrated LM vias offers an extensive phase tuning range of 360° delivering stable, low-loss, and wide bandwidth. In more detail, the reconfigurability of phase control within the array can be realized by manipulating the presence or absence of liquid metals in designated vias in the SIW. A prototype of the LM phased array antenna, operating at 10 GHz, has been measured, demonstrating an impedance bandwidth exceeds 10% with maximum gain of higher than 8 dBi and a scanning range of approximately ±40° along the end-fire direction. This technology holds promise as a reliable and cost-effective solution for wideband phased array applications.

Citation

Alkaraki, S., Lin, Q. W., Erman, F., Jilani, S. F., Wang, Z., Wong, H., & Kelly, J. R. (2024, March). Liquid Metal Reconfigurable Phased Array Antenna. Paper presented at 2024 18th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), Glasgow, United Kingdom

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (unpublished)
• Conference Name: 2024 18th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP)
• Start Date: Mar 17, 2024
• End Date: Mar 22, 2024
• Publication Date: Apr 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Mar 26, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 9, 2024
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.23919/eucap60739.2024.10500971
• Keywords: Phased arrays , Antenna measurements , Power dividers , Liquids , Dipole antennas , Metals , Prototypes , Phased Array , Antenna Array , Liquid Metal , Phased Array Antenna , Reconfigurable Array , Dipole Antenna , Feeding Structure , Substrate Integrated
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/33018309
• Related Public URLs: https://www.eucap2024.org/_files/ugd/001042_4e40eadfe35a43f2b26f0f025e580592.pdf