Deformable Liquid Metal Patch Antenna for Air Pressure Detection

For the first time, a deformable liquid metal patch, which is loaded with an air cavity underneath, is proposed for designing an air pressure-detecting antenna. Both the liquid metal (EGaIn) and air cavity of the antenna structure are constructed inside a soft and deformable polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate. Since liquid metal is highly dense, a PDMS pillar is tactfully embedded into the air cavity region for supporting the liquid patch. Due to the use of such structural support, the liquid metal patch can now be made into one whole piece and it does not cause the antenna structure to collapse. The proposed antenna structure does not require the use of microfluidic channels, which usually compromise the radiation performances, for designing the liquid metal patch. As a result, it is able to attain a high antenna gain of 8.02 dBi. The existence of the air cavity has been proven to be crucial for making the antenna structure deformable so that it is useable for detecting ambient air pressure.