Spatial tuning of a RF frequency selective surface through origami

Origami devices have the ability to spatially reconfigure between 2D and 3D states through folding motions. The precise mapping of origami presents a novel method to spatially tune radio frequency (RF) devices, including adaptive antennas, sensors, reflectors, and frequency selective surfaces (FSSs). While conventional RF FSSs are designed based upon a planar distribution of conductive elements, this leaves the large design space of the out of plane dimension under-utilized. We investigated this design regime through the computational study of four FSS origami tessellations with conductive dipoles. The dipole patterns showed increased resonance shift with decreased separation distances, with the separation in the direction orthogonal to the dipole orientations having a more significant effect. The coupling mechanisms between dipole neighbours were evaluated by comparing surface charge densities, which revealed the gain and loss of coupling as the dipoles moved in and out of alignment via folding. Collectively, these results provide a basis of origami FSS designs for experimental study and motivates the development of computational tools to systematically predict optimal fold patterns for targeted frequency response and directionality.