A millimeter-wave inflatable frequency-agile elastomeric antenna

S. Hage-Ali (1) , Nicolas Tiercelin (1, 2) , P. Coquet (1) , R. Sauleau (3) , Vladimir Preobrazhensky (1) , Philippe Pernod (1)

1 IEMN - Institut d’Électronique, de Microélectronique et de Nanotechnologie - UMR 8520
2 LIA LICS/LEMAC - Laboratoire International associé sur les phénomènes Critiques et Supercritiques en électronique fonctionnelle, acoustique et fluidique
3 IETR - Institut d'Électronique et des Technologies du numéRique

This letter reports a millimeter-wave frequency agile microstrip antenna printed on an ultrasoft elastomeric PDMS substrate. The microstrip patch antenna is supported by a PDMS membrane suspended over an air cavity. The distance H between the patch and the ground plane, and thus the resonant frequency of the antenna, are tuned using pneumatic actuation, taking advantage of the extreme softness of the PDMS membrane. A continuous frequency shift varying from 55.35 to 51 GHz ( ≈8%) has been obtained for a tuning range of H between 200µm and 575µm. In all configurations, the antenna remains matched and its radiation characteristics are very satisfactory.

Mots clés: Inflatable; Membrane; PDMS; Reconfigurable antennas; Tunable

Domaines: Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique

S. Hage-Ali, Nicolas Tiercelin, P. Coquet, R. Sauleau, Vladimir Preobrazhensky, et al.. A millimeter-wave inflatable frequency-agile elastomeric antenna. IEEE Antennas and Wireless Propagation Letters, 2010, 9, pp.1131-1134. ⟨10.1109/LAWP.2010.2096405⟩. ⟨hal-00573159⟩