A Physically Reconfigurable Structurally Embedded Vascular Antenna

Abstract

This paper discusses the fabrication, operation, and physical reconfiguration of a structurally embedded vascular antenna. The antenna is a thin-wire dipole that meanders with rotational symmetry according to a sinusoid with power-series growth. It is formed from two curvilinear vascular networks embedded into a structural composite panel and connected to a conductive vertical interconnect structure and SubMiniature Version A-connected parallel-strip transmission line for excitation and measurement. The pressure-driven flow of a liquid metal alloy within the vascular network enables the physical reconfiguration of the meandering dipole with the primary goal of dynamically tuning the matched impedance bandwidth of the fundamental dipole mode by symmetrically lengthening the conductive pathways forming the dipole. Details regarding the design, fabrication, simulation, and measurement of the meandering dipole antenna are provided along with a linearly expanding dipole for comparison.