Reconfigurable Liquid-Metal RF Circuits and Antennas Using Electrical Actuation

使用电驱动的可重构液态金属射频电路和天线

• 批准号: 1807896
• 负责人: Aaron Ohta
• 金额: $ 38万
• 依托单位: University of Hawaii
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-08-01 至 2023-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1807896&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Reconfigurable; Liquid; Metal; RF; Circuits

The proposed research will investigate electrically controlled actuation of liquid metals, helping to create the foundation for the design of reconfigurable devices and circuits that use liquid metals. Reconfigurable electronics have the unique ability to change their operational parameters, allowing them to adapt to specific tasks or environments. The amorphous nature of liquid metal allows for the creation of dynamic conductors whose shape and position can be altered to adapt to changing environments or operating parameters. Imagine, for example, a mobile electronic device that can reconfigure its communication system to provide the highest efficiency, and thus the longest battery life, in a variety of environments. This research has the potential to impact the electronics and telecommunication industries, and can enable more effective and efficient use of the wireless frequency spectrum. In addition, the research into the actuation methods has applications to fields outside of reconfigurable electronics, including microfluidics and lab- on-chip systems. This project will also support the inclusion of underrepresented Native Hawaiian students, will involve undergraduate students in the proposed research, and will support outreach to K-12 students.We will investigate low-voltage electrically controlled actuation methods for the actuation of liquid metals, and tailor these methods to applications in reconfigurable radio-frequency (RF) circuits. The actuation methods that will be focused on include a novel hybrid form of electrocapillary and electrochemical actuation, electrical capillary actuation coupled with quantized shapes of liquid metal, and continuous electrowetting. Reconfigurable circuits using each type of actuation method will be demonstrated: liquid-metal antennas that can shapeshift to change their operating characteristics, and microwave-frequency switches that have the potential for low insertion loss, high isolation, and high reliability. The proposed research will also address an important issue in liquid-metal devices: loss at microwave frequencies due to the use of aqueous electrolytes. Device architectures will be developed that are agnostic to this effect, take advantage of the loss, or minimize the loss by removing or displacing the electrolyte. The adaptation of each proposed liquid-metal actuation method to the unique constraints and requirements of reconfigurable circuits is novel. The actuation methods will be showcased by creating new types of reconfigurable circuits operating at microwave frequencies. The resulting devices will have performance characteristics that are unique or that exceed the current state-of-the-art in reconfigurable electronics. Thus, this research will advance the field of liquid-metal circuits, and create new technologies for realizing reconfigurable RF circuits. New knowledge of liquid-metal actuation will be generated.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这项拟议的研究将研究液态金属的电控致动，有助于为使用液态金属的可重构器件和电路的设计奠定基础。可重构电子设备具有改变其运行参数的独特能力，使其能够适应特定的任务或环境。液态金属的无定形性质允许产生动态导体，其形状和位置可以改变，以适应不断变化的环境或操作参数。例如，想象一下，一个移动电子设备可以重新配置其通信系统，以在各种环境中提供最高的效率，从而提供最长的电池寿命。这项研究有可能对电子和电信行业产生影响，并可以使无线频谱得到更有效和高效的利用。此外，对驱动方法的研究在可重构电子学之外的领域也有应用，包括微流体和芯片实验室系统。该项目还将支持纳入未被充分代表的夏威夷原住民学生，将本科生纳入拟议的研究，并将支持推广到K-12学生。我们将研究液态金属驱动的低压电控驱动方法，并根据可重构射频(RF)电路的应用定制这些方法。将重点研究的驱动方法包括一种新型的电毛细管和电化学驱动的混合形式，与液态金属量子化形状相结合的电毛细管驱动，以及连续电润湿。将演示使用每种类型的驱动方法的可重构电路：可以变形以改变其工作特性的液态金属天线，以及具有低插入损耗、高隔离度和高可靠性的潜在的微波频率开关。这项拟议的研究还将解决液态金属器件中的一个重要问题：由于使用含水电解液而造成的微波频率损失。将开发与这种影响无关的器件架构，利用损耗，或通过移除或置换电解液来最小化损耗。每种提出的液态金属驱动方法都适用于可重构电路的独特约束和要求，这是新颖的。驱动方法将通过创建在微波频率下工作的新型可重构电路来展示。由此产生的设备将具有独一无二的性能特征，或超过当前可重新配置电子设备的最先进水平。因此，这项研究将推动液态金属电路领域的发展，并为实现可重构射频电路创造新的技术。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

项目成果

Hybrid Electrocapillary Actuation of Liquid Metal for an Intelligent Reflecting Surface Unit Cell

用于智能反射表面单元电池的液态金属混合电毛细管驱动

• DOI: 10.23919/aces57841.2023.10114741
• 发表时间: 2023
• 期刊: 2023 International Applied Computational Electromagnetics Society Symposium (ACES
• 作者: Tahmid, Tasmia;Kouchi, Matthew T.;Dacuycuy, Saige J.;Manio, Glan Allan;Shiroma, Wayne A.;Ohta, Aaron T.
• 通讯作者: Ohta, Aaron T.

Tunable Microwave Inductor Using Liquid-Metal Microfluidics

使用液态金属微流体的可调谐微波电感器

• DOI: 10.1109/wmcs52222.2021.9493288
• 发表时间: 2021
• 期刊: 2021 IEEE Texas Symposium on Wireless and Microwave Circuits and Systems (WMCS
• 作者: Watson, Alexander M.;Leary, Thomas F.;Itokazu, Jonathan;Mattamana, Aji G.;Quach, Tony;Ohta, Aaron T.;Shiroma, Wayne A.;Tabor, Christopher E.
• 通讯作者: Tabor, Christopher E.

Low-cost rapid prototyping of high-resolution printed liquid-metal circuits and devices

高分辨率印刷液态金属电路和器件的低成本快速原型制作

• 发表时间: 2020
• 期刊: IEEE International Conference on Nano/Micro Engineered & Molecular Systems (NEMS
• 作者: Elassy, K. S.;Rahman, J.;Combs, A. W.;Garmire, D. G.;Shiroma, W. A.;Ohta, A. T.
• 通讯作者: Ohta, A. T.

Two-Dimensional Actuation of Liquid-Metal Droplets for Hot-Spot Cooling

• DOI: 10.1109/itherm51669.2021.9503186
• 发表时间: 2021-06
• 期刊: 2021 20th IEEE Intersociety Conference on Thermal and Thermomechanical Phenomena in Electronic Systems (iTherm)
• 作者: Saige J. Dacuycuy;W. Shiroma;A. Ohta

Enabling Reconfigurable All-Liquid Microcircuits via Laplace Barriers to Control Liquid Metal

通过拉普拉斯势垒实现可重构全液体微电路来控制液态金属

• 发表时间: 2019
• 期刊: IEEE MTT-S International Microwave Symposium digest
• 作者: Watson, Alexander M.;Elassy, Kareem;Leary, Thomas;Rahman, M. Arifur;Ohta, Aaron;Shiroma, Wayne;Tabor, Christopher E.
• 通讯作者: Tabor, Christopher E.