Review on recent origami inspired antennas from microwave to terahertz regime

Highlights

• This study summarizes the-state-of-the-arts of origami antennas from micro to nanoscale (terahertz regime)

• We explored the opportunities and practical challenges for material selection and design of origami antennas

• Potential solutions for the practical challenges are presented for future perspectives

• A guideline is provided for the researchers to explore the origami technology for radiation applications

Abstract

Origami technology is promising for the development of antennas operating in the microwave and terahertz regime. This study summarizes recent advances in origami antennas and their construction regarding frequency, patterns, and polarization switching capabilities for the microwave frequency band. However, there are some challenges of origami antennas related to stability, robustness, and self-deployment, which should be addressed to design more practical deployable origami antennas in the microwave frequency band. In this review, we explained the design principle of various reconfigurable origami antenna. The dielectric and conductive materials of previous origami antennas are discussed and provided the promission materials to satisfy both easy transformation and high robustness for origami antennas. In addition, various actuators are discussed to pave the way for the practical application. Origami technology has also been employed for nanoscale antennas working in the terahertz and optical regime for several applications, including single molecule detection and artificial light harvesting. Although DNA molecules provide a scaffold for the origami antennas at nanoscale size, various issues require attention for development of more advanced nanoscale origami antennas in the terahertz regime. The most pressing issues are the high cost of DNA and the probability of high error rates in self-assembly fabrication.