Continuous Electrowetting of Non-toxic Liquid Metal for RF Applications
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TLDR
Solutions for the reliable actuation of a gallium-based, non-toxic liquid-metal alloy (Galinstan) are presented that mitigate the tendency of the alloy to form a surface oxide layer capable of wetting to the channel walls, inhibiting motion.Abstract:
Continuous electrowetting (CEW) is demonstrated to be an effective actuation mechanism for reconfigurable radio frequency (RF) devices that use non-toxic liquid-metal tuning elements. Previous research has shown CEW is an efficient means of electrically inducing motion in a liquid-metal slug, but precise control of the slug's position within fluidic channels has not been demonstrated. Here, the precise positioning of liquid-metal slugs is achieved using CEW actuation in conjunction with channels designed to minimize the liquid-metal surface energy at discrete locations. This approach leverages the high surface tension of liquid metal to control its resting position with submillimeter accuracy. The CEW actuation and fluidic channel design were optimized to create reconfigurable RF devices. In addition, solutions for the reliable actuation of a gallium-based, non-toxic liquid-metal alloy (Galinstan) are presented that mitigate the tendency of the alloy to form a surface oxide layer capable of wetting to the channel walls, inhibiting motion. A reconfigurable slot antenna utilizing these techniques to achieve a 15.2% tunable frequency bandwidth is demonstrated.read more
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References
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Characterization of Nontoxic Liquid-Metal Alloy Galinstan for Applications in Microdevices
TL;DR: In this paper, the interfacial properties of Galinstan, a nontoxic liquid-metal alloy, to help replace mercury in miniature devices, were investigated in a nitrogen-filled glove box.
Journal ArticleDOI
A reciprocity method of analysis for printed slot and slot-coupled microstrip antennas
TL;DR: In this paper, a method for the analysis of slot-type discontinuities in microstripline was proposed based on the reciprocity theorem and the exact Green's functions for the grounded dielectric slab in a moment method solution for the unknown antenna currents.
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Stretchable Microfluidic Radiofrequency Antennas
Masahiro Kubo,Xiaofeng Li,Choongik Kim,Michinao Hashimoto,Benjamin J. Wiley,Donhee Ham,George M. Whitesides +6 more
TL;DR: A new method for fabricating stretchable radiofrequency antennas using a microfl uidic structure made of two types of elastomers with different stiffness with the potential to improve the stretchability and mechanical stability of the antennas.
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Surface-tension-driven microactuation based on continuous electrowetting
Junghoon Lee,Chang-Jin Kim +1 more
TL;DR: In this article, a liquid-metal droplet can be driven in an electrolyte-filled capillary by locally modifying the surface tension with electric potential, and a liquid micromotor is demonstrated at a speed of /spl sim/40 mm/s (or 420 r/min along a 2-mm loop).
Journal ArticleDOI
Flexible Liquid Metal Alloy (EGaIn) Microstrip Patch Antenna
TL;DR: In this paper, a flexible microstrip patch antenna that incorporates a novel multi-layer construction consisting of a liquid metal (eutectic gallium indium) encased in an elastomer is described.