Additively Manufactured Stress-strain Dependant Frequency Reconfigurable Antenna for Pressure Sensor Applications

Abstract

A novel additive-manufactured antenna for stretchable sensor application is designed, simulated and measured. The fully transparent antenna has air as a substrate and a conductive aluminium metal sheet as a patch. The layers are defined with thin Thermo Poly Urethane (TPU) material, as its flexible/stretchable property doesn't disturb the actual property of air. The air substrate is locked within the flexible TPU with a thickness of 200 microns, and the conducting patch is also dimensioned with the 3D printing method. The stretchable antenna is fabricated with 3D printing technology, considered a dielectric medium, and the conducting medium is a conducting aluminium sheet. Re-configurability is achieved with the pressure level applied over the air–substrate antenna. Hence, the minimal change in shape changes the dielectric constant, thus changing the antenna parameter and radiation pattern. The antenna achieves improved size and performance with a gain of 7.2 dB, a directivity of 7.574 dB, a radiation efficiency of 95.67 %, and a 12:509 front-to-back ratio. The fabricated antenna is tested for its resonant characteristics and radiation properties. This reconfigurable antenna can be used for various applications, including Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) communication.