Printed reconfigurable electronic circuit
An electronic component such as a voltage controllable reconfigurable capacitor or transistor is formed by printing one or more layers of ink on a non-conductive substrate. Ferroelectric ink or semi-conductive ink is printed and conductive resistive or dielectric ink is printed on a s same or different layers. Reconfigurability is achieved by printing resistive biasing circuitry wherein when a changing voltage is applied to the biasing circuitry, an electronic property of the electronic component changes in response to the changing voltage.
1. An electronic component comprising:
a non-conducting substrate having printed thereon, in predetermined patterns, one or more layers of material wherein some of the material is ferroelectric or semi-conductive material and some of the material is at least one of conductive, dielectric, and resistive; and, printed resistive biasing circuitry having a resistance of at least 100 ohms per square millimetre, supported by the substrate, electrically coupled to one or more of the printed layers, wherein when a changing voltage is applied to the resistive biasing circuitry, an electronic property of the electronic component changes in response to the changing voltage.
2. An electronic component as defined in claim 1 , wherein the electronic property is capacitance and wherein the material is dried ink and wherein the resistive biasing circuitry has a resistance of at least 200 ohms per square millimetre.
3. An electronic component as defined in claim 2 wherein the one or more layers of material comprise a conductive material and the ferroelectric material printed in an interdigitated pattern, forming a capacitive component, and wherein the resistive biasing circuitry is electrically coupled to the capacitive component for providing a varying voltage to the capacitive component for varying its capacitance.
4. An electronic component as defined in claim 1 wherein the one or more layers of material are a semi-conductive material and wherein the one or more printed layers of material form one or more transistors.
5. An electronic component as defined in claim 1 wherein the one or more layers comprises a first layer of a printed material having a first electrical property, a second layer of a second printed material having a second different electrical property, and a third layer of a printed material having the first electrical property and wherein the printed biasing circuitry is electrically coupled to the first and third layers for providing a varying voltage to the component for varying a capacitance.
6. An electronic component as defined in claim 5 , wherein the component is a voltage controllable capacitor and wherein the first layer and the third layers of printed material are conductive materials and wherein the second printed material layer is a ferroelectric material, and wherein the resistive biasing circuitry has a resistance of at least 200 ohms per square millimeter.
7. An electronic component as defined in claim 1 , wherein the resistive biasing circuitry is electrically connected to a variable voltage source.
8. An electronic component comprising:
a non-conducting substrate having printed thereon:
a) a printed layer of conductive material to provide a loop resonator;
b) a plurality of printed layers forming metal insulator metal capacitors for loading the loop resonator, wherein each capacitor is formed of a printed ferroelectric material and at least a printed conductive, dielectric or resistive material, or
c) a printed conductive material and a printed ferroelectric material in interdigitated patterns forming capacitors for loading the loop resonator; and,
d) printed resistive biasing circuitry electrically coupled to the capacitors for providing a varying voltage from a voltage source to the capacitors and for varying capacitance and for varying a resonant frequency of the loop resonator wherein the resistive biasing circuitry has a resistance of at least 100 ohms per square millimeter.
9. An electronic component as defined in claim 8 , wherein the component is voltage controllable so as to be reconfigurable and wherein the material is a dried or cured ink.
10. An electronic component as defined in claim 9 wherein the printed conductive material is a silver or copper-based molecular dried ink.
11. An electronic component as defined in claim 8 wherein the electronic component is absent discrete components.
12. An electronic component comprising: a dielectric substrate having printed thereon one or more layers of printed material wherein a conductive material and ferroelectric material is printed on a layer so as to provide a loop resonator printed thereon and inter-digitated patterns printed thereon forming capacitors for loading the loop; and resistive biasing circuitry having a resistance of at least 100 ohms per square millimeter printed on the substrate electrically coupled to the capacitors for providing a varying voltage from a voltage source to the capacitors and for varying capacitance and for varying a resonant frequency of the loop resonator, wherein the electronic component is a dynamically tunable resonator circuit.
13. An electronic component as defined in claim 12 wherein the loop resonator is a square loop resonator.
14. An electronic component as defined in claim 12 wherein the loop resonator is a self-resonating structure and wherein a variance of the capacitance varies a resonant frequency of the loop resonator.
15. An electronic component as defined in claim 12 wherein the biasing circuitry is printed with a resistive material having a resistance of at least 200 ohms per square millimetre.
16. An electronic component comprising: a dielectric substrate having printed thereon one or more layers of printed material wherein a layer of conductive material is printed thereon so as to provide a loop resonator printed thereon and a plurality of layers are printed thereon forming metal insulator metal capacitors for loading the loop; and resistive biasing circuitry printed on the substrate electrically coupled to the capacitors for providing a varying voltage from a voltage source to the capacitors and for varying its capacitance and for varying a resonant frequency of the loop resonator, wherein each of the metal insulator metal capacitors are formed of a ferroelectric material and at least a conductive, dielectric, or resistive material, wherein the electronic component is a dynamically tunable resonator circuit.
17. A plurality of electronic components as defined in claim 16 wherein the resonator circuits are interconnected so as to form a frequency selective surface.
18. An electronic components as defined in claim 17 , wherein each of the resonator circuits are connected to a same biasing circuit and wherein the biasing circuit has a resistance of at least 100 ohms per square millimeter.
19. An electronic component as claimed in claim 16 , wherein the material is a dried or cured ink and wherein the resistive biasing material has a resistance of at least 100 ohms per square millimetre.
20. An electronic component as claimed in claim 19 , wherein some of the ink is a silver or copper-based molecular ink.