US Patent 7501985 Nanostructured tunable antennas for communication devices

An apparatus (10, 30, 40, 50) is provided that relates to nanotubes as radiation elements for antennas and phased arrays, and more particularly to a macro-sized RF antenna for mobile devices. The antenna comprises a plurality of nanostructures (16), e.g., carbon nanotubes, forming an antenna structure on a substrate (12), and a radio frequency signal apparatus formed within the substrate (12) and coupled to the plurality of nanostructures (16). The radiation element length of a nested multiwall nanotube (161) of an exemplary embodiment may be tuned to a desirable frequency by an electromagnetic force (163).