Liquid metal 3D printed microfluidic channel reconfigurable patch antenna with switchable slots

In this work, we propose a wide-band frequency reconfigurable patch antenna with switchable slots (PASS) based on liquid metal manipulation in 3D printed microfluidic channel. The antenna operation relies on continuous movement of the liquid metal volume over the channel that covers the antenna slots. The patch antenna was designed with three pairs of composite slots, with the microfluidic channel bonded on top of the metal layer. Simulation results shows that by tuning and switching the liquid metal loaded slot in the designed microfluidic channel, a frequency tuning bandwidth of around 70% is achieved, without significant changing in the radiation pattern and radiation efficiency. Prototype has been fabricated and preliminary testing shows good agreement between simulations and measurements.