Beyond Planar: An Additively Manufactured, Origami-Inspired Shape-Changing, and RFIC-Based Phased Array for Near-Limitless Radiation Pattern Reconfigurability in 5G/mm-Wave Applications

This letter presents an origami-inspired phased array operating at 28 GHz, with on-structure beamformer RFICs and a flexible feeding network that utilizes a foldable hinge interconnect. The mm-wave origami phased array therein operates at a substantially smaller scale compared with prior literature and achieves remarkable integration with on-structure beamforming circuitry. It introduces the first additively manufactured fully foldable hinge interconnect, exhibiting near-constant insertion loss across various folding angles and cycles. Leveraging origami principles, the phased array offers near 360° continuous beam steering in the azimuth plane with reconfigurable multibeam or quasi-isotropic radiation patterns. Additive manufacturing techniques, including 3-D and inkjet printing, are used to fabricate a low-cost and lightweight prototype. Measurements demonstrating near-limitless pattern reconfigurability due to mechanical shape change and electrical beam steering signify a significant leap in overcoming challenges faced by traditional phased arrays.