Issue

Vol. 13 (2021)

Strain-Insensitive Hierarchically Structured Stretchable Microstrip Antennas for Robust Wireless Communication

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00631-5
Jia Zhu
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Senhao Zhang
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Ning Yi
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Chaoyun Song
School of Engineering and Physical Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, University Park, Edinburgh EH14 4AS, Scotland, UK
Donghai Qiu
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology, Chinese Academy of Science, Suzhou 215011, People’s Republic of China
Zhihui Hu
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Bowen Li
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Chenghao Xing
Department of Electrical Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Hongbo Yang
Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, School of Biomedical Engineering (Suzhou), University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230022, People’s Republic of China
Qing Wang
Department of Materials Science and Engineering, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA
Huanyu Cheng
Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA

Corresponding Author: Huanyu Cheng

Huanyu.Cheng@psu.edu

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 13 (2021), Article Number: 108

Abstract

As the key component of wireless data transmission and powering, stretchable antennas play an indispensable role in flexible/stretchable electronics. However, they often suffer from frequency detuning upon mechanical deformations; thus, their applications are limited to wireless sensing with wireless transmission capabilities remaining elusive. Here, a hierarchically structured stretchable microstrip antenna with meshed patterns arranged in an arched shape showcases tunable resonance frequency upon deformations with improved overall stretchability. The almost unchanged resonance frequency during deformations enables robust on-body wireless communication and RF energy harvesting, whereas the rapid changing resonance frequency with deformations allows for wireless sensing. The proposed stretchable microstrip antenna was demonstrated to communicate wirelessly with a transmitter (input power of − 3 dBm) efficiently (i.e., the receiving power higher than − 100 dBm over a distance of 100 m) on human bodies even upon 25% stretching. The flexibility in structural engineering combined with the coupled mechanical–electromagnetic simulations, provides a versatile engineering toolkit to design stretchable microstrip antennas and other potential wireless devices for stretchable electronics.


Highlights:


1 The “ordered-unraveling” of hierarchical structures from mechanical assembly contributes to not only the improved overall stretchability, but also the small resonance shift of the stretchable microstrip antenna upon stretching.
2 The mechanical-electromagnetic properties of stretchable microstrip antennas can be controlled by changing the number of arches in the meshed patch.
3 A double-arched microstrip antenna was demonstrated to communicate wirelessly upon 25% stretching or when being placed on human bodies.

Keywords

Stretchable microstrip antennas Strain-insensitive resonance frequency Wireless communication RF energy harvesting Wearable and bio-integrated electronics
Zhu, Jia, Senhao Zhang, Ning Yi, Chaoyun Song, Donghai Qiu, Zhihui Hu, Bowen Li, Chenghao Xing, Hongbo Yang, Qing Wang, and Huanyu Cheng. 2021. “Strain-Insensitive Hierarchically Structured Stretchable Microstrip Antennas for Robust Wireless Communication”. Nano-Micro Letters 13 (April):108. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-021-00631-5.
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