A fluid approach to microwaves

Collaborative researchers from the University of Cambridge in the UK and Technische Universitÿt Darmstadt (TUD) in Germany have signifi cantly increased the dielectric anisotropy of liquid crystals in the microwave range by adding minute amounts of carbon nanotubes. This result is a signifi cant step for the use of liquid crystals as a tunable material in a wide range of microwave devices at frequencies up to several THz.