Non-toxic Liquid Metal Microstrip Resonators

Xiaoguang Liu, Purdue University - Main Campus
Linda Katehi, School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University
Dimitrios Peroulis, Birck Nanotechnology Center and School of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Purdue University

Abstract

In this paper, we report for the first time the design and fabrication of non-toxic liquid metal (Galinstan) half-wavelength (lambda(g)/2) microstrip resonator. Patterning techniques of Galinstan microstrip resonators are presented. Resonators of different lengths are measured to cover a frequency range of 3-20 GHz. We have characterized the conductivity of Galinstan by matching the measured quality factor with finite element model of the resonators. The conductivity of Galinstan is found to be 3.83 +/- 0.16 x 10(6) S/m. The liquid metal holds great promises as a low contact resistance, highly reliable, high temperature tolerant material. This work will benefit future implementations of Galinstan based RF/Microwave reconfigurable devices and systems with high reliability.

Discipline(s)

Engineering | Nanoscience and Nanotechnology