Investigation of biasing conditions and energy dissipation in electrochemically controlled capillarity liquid metal electronics

Abstract

This Letter investigates the trade-off between the biasing conditions (biasing current and electrolyte concentration) and energy dissipation in high-frequency liquid metal electronics using electrochemically controlled capillarity (ECC). ECC can control the interfacial tension of liquid metal via DC current as a method to move the metal in capillaries. It requires a conductive electrolyte to facilitate the electrochemical reactions. Here, the authors measure the withdrawal rate of liquid metal under different biasing currents and electrolyte concentrations. The results indicate that a larger biasing current and a more concentrated electrolyte induce a faster withdrawal motion of liquid metal. This Letter also explores the change of antenna efficiency when different electrolyte concentrations are chosen. The selection of electrolyte concentration for high-antenna efficiency conflicts with the need for fast withdrawal speed and low-DC power consumption of the liquid metal system, therefore requiring a balance among the various parameters when ECC is applied in practical liquid metal electronics.