Reconfigurable wireless and cell-sorting devices for communications and biomedical applications

Abstract

Engineering research is performed on different levels of technological complexity, where the most sophisticated system can be explained using a combination of simpler concepts. This thesis focuses on research, albeit on unrelated topics, spanning the entire spectrum of complexity ranging from systems to devices to individual technologies. A retrodirective array system, which could automatically determine the direction of an incoming interrogating signal and send a response in the same direction, was developed by detecting maximum incoming RF power levels in the visible half-plane through slope detection. An impedance spectroscopy device was designed and tested with the hopes of assisting in vitro fertilization by quantifying electrical properties of embryos to differentiate viable and non-viable samples. Finally, liquid metal technology for use in reconfigurable RF devices was furthered by determining the conductivity of the liquid metal Galinstan in the RF range, which allows for better predictability in the performance of future Galinstan reconfigurable RF devices.