Mechanically tunable periodic electromagnetic surface using stretchable polymer

Abstract

This paper presents a mechanically tunable partially reflective surface (PRS) antenna for radiation pattern reconfiguration. This is a low-cost alternative to the traditional electronic tuning which utilizes switches/varactors. A dipole array PRS is implemented on a stretchable polymer-based layer. Stretching the layer can double the inter-element spacing of the unit cells, tune the reflection of the surface, and consequently reconfigure the antenna radiation pattern.