LC reservoir construction
AssigneeKymeta Corporation
InventorsSteven Howard Linn, Felix Chen
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An apparatus for exchanging liquid crystal (LC) between two areas of an antenna array in an antenna and method for using the same are disclosed. In one embodiment, the antenna comprises an antenna element array formed using portions of first and second substrates with a liquid crystal (LC) therebetween, and a structure between the first and second substrates and in an area outside of, and at an outer periphery of, the antenna element array to collect LC from an area between the first and second substrates forming the RF antenna elements due to LC expansion and to provide LC to the area between the first and second substrates forming the RF antenna elements due to LC contraction, the structure having a plurality of support spacers between the first and second substrates.
Claims20
An antenna comprising:
- an antenna element array comprising portions of first and second substrates with a liquid crystal (LC) therebetween, and
- a structure between the first and second substrates and in area outside of the antenna element array, the structure being configured to collect LC from one or more antenna elements due to LC expansion and to provide LC to the one or more antenna elements due to LC contraction, the structure having a plurality of support spacers between the first and second substrates.
An antenna comprising:
- an antenna element array comprising portions of first and second substrates with a liquid crystal (LC) therebetween, and
- an LC reservoir in an RF inactive area outside of, and at an outer periphery of the antenna element array, to collect LC from one or more antenna elements due to LC expansion that results in response to a first change in an environmental condition and to provide LC to the one or more antenna elements due to LC contraction that results in response to a second change in an environmental condition, the LC reservoir having a plurality of support spacers between the first and second substrates.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.