Microfluidic liquid metal based mechanically reconfigurable antenna using reversible gecko adhesive based bonding

This paper describes a new fabrication method for flexible electronics made of microfluidic structures filled with liquid metal in a thermoplastic elastomer, styrene ethylene butylene styrene (SEBS). The devices can reversibly be bonded to a larger system with gecko inspired dry adhesives. To demonstrate the feasibility of the method, a mechanically reconfigurable folded dipole has been fabricated and 55% frequency tuning with a 20% to 40% bandwidth for various frequencies has been achieved.