A frequency reconfigurable antenna based on digital microfluidics

Abstract

We present a novel antenna reconfiguration mechanism relying on electrowetting based digital microfluidics to implement a frequency reconfigurable antenna operating in the X-band. The antenna built on a quartz substrate (ε_r = 3.9, tan δ = 0.0002) is a coplanar waveguide fed annular slot antenna, which is monolithically integrated with a microfluidic chip. This chip establishes an electrowetting on dielectric platform with a mercury droplet placed in it. The base contact area of the mercury droplet can be spread out by electrostatic actuation resulting in a change of loading capacitance. This in turn changes the resonant frequency of the antenna enabling a reversible reconfigurable impedance property. This reconfigurable antenna has been designed, fabricated and measured. The frequency of operation is tuned from around 11 GHz to 13 GHz as demonstrated by simulations and measurements. The design methodology, fabrication processes and the experimental results are given and discussed.