US12487066 - Microwave-initiated antenna igniters with bandwidth selectivity

Disclosed is a tunable microwave-initiated antenna igniter. The device includes a pair of tunable microstrip antennas on a substrate configured to receive an electromagnetic radiation frequency that provides ignition energy; and a conductive material spanning a dielectric gap between the pair of tunable microstrip antennas. The conductive material spanning the dielectric gap can include a dielectric epoxy or a bridgewire. The microstrip antennas are tunable for frequency and bandwidth by varying dipole length and/or width. Tuning causes the microstrip antennas to reject accidental ignition from an off frequency high power microwave field. The tunability, bandwidth selectivity, and low energy requirements allow for use of the tunable microwave-initiated antenna igniters in a number of new and challenging ignition applications.

• Inventors: Stuart Barkley, Travis Sippel, Justin Lajoie