Fluidically reconfigurable microwave devices and optical sensors

Reconfigurable periodic structures and antennas are in great demand both in the military and commercial areas. A vast amount of research and development work has been done in realizing reconfigurable periodic structures and antennas. Some of the technologies proposed to realize these reconfigurable devices are complex in nature and have high cost involved with them. Therefore, their use is mostly limited to the military sectors and these devices have not been used in many commercial systems. In this thesis, a significant portion has been dedicated to provide innovative, interdisciplinary and cost-effective solution to realize reconfigurable microwave devices that could potentially enable development of affordable future wireless systems, which can also handle high-power signals without compromising the performance of the overall system.;Fluidically reconfigurable periodic structures and antennas based on a liquid varactor concept with a new tuning technique are presented and discussed in this thesis, which show promise in developing microwave devices that are cost-effective and capable of handling high power. The technique is expected to minimize the complexity of the system and enable widespread use in high-power applications. The proposed fluidically tunable periodic structures and antennas consist of a 3D printed substrate with embedded hollow channels. The hollow channels are then populated with metal/glass balls and/or metal cylinders. The layout of the channels is designed in a fashion that can distribute pressure evenly causing the balls and/or cylinders inside the channels to move synchronously or just be controlled independently of each other.;The suggested design for these microwave devices does not use any type of electronic component to achieve reconfigurability and therefore makes them feasible to be used in high-power applications.