A Design Route for Reconfigurable Soft Microstrip Patch Antennas: Incorporating the strain domain

This article elaborates on the general design route of stretchable microstrip patch antennas that are fabricated on polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) soft substrates. Compared to their conventional counterparts on rigid substrates, the stretchability of these antennas brings about a change in both the overall physical dimensions and electrical parameters of the materials. Unlike in the traditional design route, the deformation parameters are incorporated into the classical design equations of the microstrip patch antenna. In addition, the relative dielectric constant of the soft substrate and equivalent conductivity of the metal layer are both functions of the deformation parameters. Based on the improved equations, the reconfigurable antenna is able to work in multiple frequency points by using a comprehensive optimization algorithm.