Aerospace & Defense Technology - December 2024 - 22

RF & Microwave Technology
Researchers Use Ancient Japanese Art
Method to Create Tunable Antennas
T
he future of wireless technology
- from charging devices to
boosting communication signals
- relies on the antennas
that transmit electromagnetic waves
becoming increasingly versatile, durable
and easy to manufacture. Researchers at
Drexel University and the University of
British Columbia believe kirigami, the
ancient Japanese art of cutting and folding
paper to create intricate three-dimensional
designs, could provide a
model for manufacturing the next generation
of antennas.
Recently published in the journal
Nature Communications, research from
the Drexel-UBC team showed how kirigami
- a variation of origami - can
transform a single sheet of acetate coated
with conductive MXene ink into a flexible
3D microwave antenna whose transmission
frequency can be adjusted simply
by pulling or squeezing to slightly
shift its shape.
The proof of concept is significant,
according to the researchers, because it
represents a new way to quickly and
cost-effectively manufacture an antenna
by simply coating aqueous MXene ink
onto a clear elastic polymer substrate
material.
" For wireless technology to support
advancements in fields like soft robotics
and aerospace, antennas need to be
designed for tunable performance and
with ease of fabrication, " said Yury Gogotsi,
Ph.D., Distinguished University and
Bach Professor in Drexel's College of Engineering,
and a co-author of the research.
" Kirigami is a natural model for a manufacturing
process, due to the simplicity
with which complex 3D forms can be created
from a single 2D piece of material. "
Standard microwave antennas can be
reconfigured either electronically or by
altering their physical shape. However,
adding the necessary circuitry to control
an antenna electronically can increase
its complexity, making the antenna
bulkier, more vulnerable to malfunction
and more expensive to manufacture. By
contrast, the process demonstrated in
this joint work leverages physical shape
change and can create antennas in a
variety of intricate shapes and forms.
These antennas are flexible, lightweight
and durable, which are crucial factors for
their survivability on movable robotics
and aerospace components.
To create the test antennas, the
researchers first coated a sheet of acetate
with a special conductive ink, composed
of a titanium carbide MXene, to create
frequency-selective patterns. MXene ink
is particularly useful in this application
because its chemical composition allows
it to adhere strongly to the substrate for a
durable antenna and can be adjusted to
reconfigure the transmission specifications
of the antenna.
MXenes are a family of two-dimensional
nanomaterials discovered by Drexel
22
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Aerospace & Defense Technology, December 2024
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Aerospace & Defense Technology - December 2024

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