A review on reconfigurable liquid dielectric antennas

Abstract

The advancements in wireless communication impose a growing range of demands on the antennas performance, requiring multiple functionalities to be present in a single device. To satisfy these different application needs within a limited space, reconfigurable antennas are often used which are able to switch between a number of states, providing multiple functions using a single antenna. Electronic switching components, such as PIN diodes, radio-frequency micromechanical systems (RF-MEMS), and varactors, are typically used to achieve antenna reconfiguration. However, some of these approaches have certain limitations, such as narrow bandwidth, complex biasing circuitry, and high activation voltages. In recent years, an alternative approach using liquid dielectric materials for antenna reconfiguration has drawn significant attention. The intrinsic conformability of liquid dielectric materials allows us to realize antennas with desired reconfigurations with different physical constraints while maintaining high radiation efficiency. The purpose of this review is to summarize different approaches proposed in the literature for the liquid dielectric reconfigurable antennas. It facilitates the understanding of the advantages and limitations of this technology, and it helps to draw general design principals for the development of reconfigurable antennas in this category. © 2020 by the authors.