US-12620700-B2 - Dynamically shapable antenna

US12620700B2US 12620700 B2US12620700 B2US 12620700B2US-12620700-B2

Abstract

An antenna assembly may include a shape change antenna configured to transmit an electromagnetic wave or receive an electromagnetic wave. The shape change antenna may have an antenna shape and may be formed of a conductive shape memory material that physically moves in response to changes in a non-geometric characteristic. The antenna assembly may also include a shape change stimulator configured to change the non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to cause the antenna shape to physically change between a first geometry and a second geometry.

Inventors

Jennifer S. Hollenbeck
Steven M. Storck

Assignees

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20241021

Claims (19)

1 . An apparatus for transmitting or receiving electromagnetic waves, the apparatus comprising: a base structure; a front end configured to condition a signal for transmission as a transmitted electromagnetic wave via a transmitter of the front end or condition a received electromagnetic wave received via a receiver of the front end; a shape change antenna operably coupled to the front end and configured to transmit the transmitted electromagnetic wave or receive the received electromagnetic wave, the shape change antenna having an antenna shape and being formed of a material comprising a conductive shape memory material that physically moves in response to changes in a non-geometric characteristic, the shape change antenna being physically coupled to the base structure; a shape change stimulator configured to change the non-geometric characteristic to cause the antenna shape of the shape change antenna to physically change; and shape control circuity configured to control the shape change stimulator to change the non-geometric characteristic to cause the antenna shape to change between a first geometry and a second geometry, wherein at least a portion of the shape change antenna physically moves relative to the base structure as the shape change antenna transitions between the first geometry and the second geometry.
2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , shape control circuity is configured to control the shape change stimulator to repeatedly change the non-geometric characteristic between a first value and a second value to cause the antenna shape to repeatedly change between the first geometry and the second geometry.
3 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the antenna shape is in the first geometry, an antenna gain for the shape change antenna is above a gain threshold at a first frequency and below the gain threshold at a second frequency; and wherein, when the antenna shape is in the second geometry, the antenna gain is above the gain threshold at the second frequency and below the gain threshold at the first frequency; wherein the first frequency is separated from the second frequency by at least one megahertz.
4 . The apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the shape control circuity is configured to control the shape change stimulator to change the non-geometric characteristic to cause the antenna shape to change to the first geometry and, while the antenna shape is in the first geometry, the shape change antenna is configured to receive the received electromagnetic wave at the first frequency for provision to the front end; and wherein the shape control circuitry is configured to control the shape change stimulator to change the non-geometric characteristic to cause the antenna shape to change from the first geometry to the second geometry and, while the antenna shape is in the second geometry, the shape change antenna is configured to transmit the transmitted electromagnetic wave at the second frequency provided from the front end.
5 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein, when the antenna shape is the first geometry, the shape change antenna has a first radiation pattern; wherein, when the antenna shape is the second geometry, the shape change antenna has a second radiation pattern; wherein the first radiation pattern and the second radiation pattern have different electromagnetic field strengths at a common location relative to the shape change antenna for a same input power.
6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the shape change antenna is configured to operate as a wide-band sensor when the antenna shape is the first geometry; and wherein the shape change antenna is configured to operate as a narrow-band transmitting apparatus when the antenna shape is in the second geometry.
7 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the non-geometric characteristic is temperature, magnetic field strength, electric field strength, or light intensity.
8 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the non-geometric characteristic is temperature; wherein the shape control circuitry is configured to control the shape change stimulator to output a first temperature to cause the antenna shape to be the first geometry and output a second temperature to cause the antenna shape to be the second geometry; wherein the first temperature is different from the second temperature.
9 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the shape control circuitry is configured to measure a resistance of the shape change antenna as a feedback parameter to determine whether the antenna shape is the first geometry or the second geometry.
10 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the conductive shape memory material comprises a shape memory alloy, a shape memory conductive polymer, or a shape memory conductive carbon-based material.
11 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first geometry comprises a planar spiral and the second geometry comprises a cone-shaped spiral.
12 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the front end comprises a software defined radio.
13 . The apparatus of claim 1 further comprising a plurality of shape change antennas configured to operate as a phased array of shape change antennas.
14 . An antenna assembly comprising: a shape change antenna configured to transmit an electromagnetic wave or receive an electromagnetic wave, the shape change antenna having an antenna shape and being formed of a material comprising a conductive shape memory material that physically moves in response to changes in a non-geometric characteristic; and a shape change stimulator configured to change the non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to cause the antenna shape to physically change between a first geometry and a second geometry, wherein when the antenna shape is the first geometry, the shape change antenna has a first radiation pattern, when the antenna shape is the second geometry, the shape change antenna has a second radiation pattern, and the first radiation pattern and the second radiation pattern have different electromagnetic field strengths at a common location relative to the shape change antenna for a same input power.
15 . The antenna assembly of claim 14 , wherein the shape change antenna is configured to repeatedly change the antenna shape between the first geometry and the second geometry.
16 . The antenna assembly of claim 14 , wherein, when the antenna shape is the first geometry, an antenna gain for the shape change antenna is above a gain threshold across a first frequency band and not above the gain threshold across a second frequency band; and wherein, when the antenna shape is the second geometry, the antenna gain is above the gain threshold across the second frequency band and not above the gain threshold across the first frequency band; wherein the first frequency band is separated for the second frequency band by at least one megahertz.
17 . The antenna assembly of claim 14 , wherein the non-geometric characteristic is temperature, magnetic field strength, electric field strength, or light intensity.
18 . The antenna assembly of claim 14 , wherein the non-geometric characteristic is temperature; wherein the shape change stimulator is configured to output a first temperature to cause the antenna shape to be the first geometry and output a second temperature to cause the antenna shape to be the second geometry; wherein the first temperature is different from the second temperature.
19 . A method for modifying electromagnetic characteristics by changing an antenna shape of a shape change antenna, the method comprising: controlling, by circuitry, a shape change stimulator to change a non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to a first value to cause the antenna shape to physically change into a first geometry to cause the shape change antenna to have a first radiation pattern, the shape change antenna being formed of a material comprising a conductive shape memory material that responds to changes in the non-geometric characteristic; transmitting or receiving an electromagnetic wave via the shape change antenna in the first geometry; controlling, by the circuitry, the shape change stimulator to change the non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to a second value, different from the first value, to cause the antenna shape to physically change from the first geometry to a second geometry to cause the shape change antenna to have a second radiation pattern; and transmitting or receiving a second electromagnetic wave via the shape change antenna in the second geometry, wherein the first radiation pattern and the second radiation pattern have different electromagnetic field strengths at a common location relative to the shape change antenna for a same input power.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application claims priority to and the benefit of prior-filed, U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/591,867 filed on Oct. 20, 2023, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated herein by reference. TECHNICAL FIELD Example embodiments generally relate to electromagnetic field and wave technology and, in particular, relate to antenna technologies. BACKGROUND The wireless revolution has led to an increasing demand for wireless communications and wireless signal detection technologies. However, operation as a single application device has proven to be limiting. There is an increasing demand for multi-application devices that have broad capabilities requiring an electromagnetic (EM) wave interface that supports a number of different applications. If size and weight were not common constraints, such multi-application devices could be constructed with dedicated components (i.e., separate, dedicated antennas) for each application. However, the demands continue to increase for miniaturized and mobile technologies. Such requirements can exist in spacecraft implementations that may have requirements for detecting EM waves within a broad frequency band for a first science-based application, and also requirements for communications at a specific frequency via a directional beam, where the specific frequency is out of band from the broad frequency band for the science-based application. Similar requirements have arisen for drones in aerial and underwater contexts. These are but a few examples of such requirements. While technologies such as phased arrays and software defined radios have attempted to provide configurable solutions in these and similar contexts, such technologies still have limitations that require further fundamental advances to overcome. BRIEF SUMMARY According to some non-limiting, example embodiments, an apparatus for transmitting or receiving electromagnetic waves is described. The apparatus may include a base structure, a front end configured to condition a signal for transmission as a transmitted electromagnetic wave via a transmitter of the front end or condition a received electromagnetic wave received via a receiver of the front end, and a shape change antenna operably coupled to the front end and configured to transmit the transmitted electromagnetic wave or receive the received electromagnetic wave. The shape change antenna may have an antenna shape and may be formed of a material including a conductive shape memory material that physically moves in response to changes in a non-geometric characteristic. The shape change antenna may be physically coupled to the base structure. The apparatus may further include a shape change stimulator configured to change the non-geometric characteristic to cause the antenna shape of the shape change antenna to physically change and shape control circuity configured to control the shape change stimulator to change the non-geometric characteristic to cause the antenna shape to change between a first geometry and a second geometry. At least a portion of the shape change antenna may physically move relative to the base structure as the shape change antenna transitions between the first geometry and the second geometry. According to some example embodiments, an antenna assembly is described. The antenna assembly may include a shape change antenna configured to transmit an electromagnetic wave or receive an electromagnetic wave. The shape change antenna may have an antenna shape and may be formed of a material including a conductive shape memory material that physically moves in response to changes in a non-geometric characteristic. The antenna assembly may also include a shape change stimulator configured to change the non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to cause the antenna shape to physically change between a first geometry and a second geometry. According to other non-limiting, example embodiments, a method for modifying electromagnetic characteristics by changing an antenna shape of a shape change antenna is described. The method may include controlling, by circuitry, a shape change stimulator to change a non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to a first value to cause the antenna shape to physically change into a first geometry. The shape change antenna may be formed of a material including a conductive shape memory material that responds to changes in the non-geometric characteristic. The method may also include transmitting or receiving an electromagnetic wave via the shape change antenna in the first geometry and controlling, by the circuitry, the shape change stimulator to change the non-geometric characteristic of the shape change antenna to a second value, different from the first value, to cause the antenna shape to physically change from the first geometry to a second geometry. The method may also include transmitting or receiving a second electromagnetic wave vi