Grant: Engage Grants Program

The rapid growth of applications requiring wireless communication or remote sensing has created demand for advances in antenna technologies, constituting a vital field of Canada's economy. Space products often require complex and highly demanding technological applications. The requirement for maximum safety and performance, with minimum weight, is a major reason why the space industry uses new and improved materials and new design and production technologies. We will seek to fabricate antennas that are highly flexible, stretchable, and reversibly deformable, those operate in space environment. The ability to reversibly deform antennas may also enable new capabilities (e.g., rolling and unrolling for remote deployment, enhanced durability) and the ability to reconfigure the shape of an antenna mechanically (e.g., by elongation) provides a means of tuning its spectral response or sensing external forces. Our bendable antennas consist of a fluid metal alloy injected into micro-fluidic channels comprising an encapsulation polymer (i.e., host structure). Because of the fluidic materials embedded into the polymer envelop, the ""smart"" antennas are too lighter comparatively with conventional solid metallic elements used such as copper and aluminum, while ensuring at least similar efficiency. This will also encourage commercial applications by reducing the cost of the final product (by reducing the mass budget). Finally, since these antennas operate in a space environment, over time micro-cracks, induced by space debris and mechanical fatigue can form, and the integrity of the space structure is significantly compromised. MPB Technologies Inc. is developing innovative solutions to overcome this damage problem, among which, those involving the most promising concept based on self-repair of the cracks formed in aerospace structures. Our project will focus on the next step of the research undertaken by the company: « the fabrication of highly flexible, stretchable, and reversibly deformable fluidic antenna which is protecting by self-healed materials, for larger scale commercialization of self healing composite materials for space applications».