Liquid Metal-Based 2-D Reconfigurable Antenna Assembly With Zero Static Power Consumption

This article proposes a zero static power consumption, enhanced gain, and two-dimensional reconfigurable antenna assembly based on liquid metal. The edge-truncated patches are integrated with triangular microfluidic chips and liquid metal. This integration facilitates the polarization reconfiguration among left hand circular polarization (LHCP), right hand circular polarization (RHCP), and linear polarization (LP). Furthermore, while reconstructing the top edge-truncated patches, it is possible to reconfigure the feeding networks at the bottom. Specifically, the feeding networks within the antenna assembly are integrated with U-shaped microfluidic chips and liquid metal. This integration is designed to achieve a phase difference of 180° for each unit. Consequently, the antenna assembly can simultaneously achieve polarization and directivity reconfiguration. This liquid metal-based approach opens a new paradigm for designing antenna systems with low power consumption, enhanced gain performance, and adaptive beamforming capabilities, while offering significant potential for applications in 5G/6G communications and intelligent wireless communication systems.