Embroidered e-fiber-polymer composites for conformal and load bearing antennas

Abstract

This paper builds on a new technology that embroiders conductive coated polymeric fibers (e-fibers) on polymer-ceramic composites to realize conformal, load bearing antennas and RF structures. Indeed, electrically conductive fibers, comprised of thin metal coated polymer strands (Zylon, Kevlar etc.), are extremely flexible. They are also easy to be stitched onto polymer substrates to form an embroidering structure. More importantly, as the strands are extremely conductive (comparable to traditional conductors), there is no compromise on antenna performance and efficiency. To demonstrate this, a sample e-fiber and polymer based patch antenna was fabricated for experimental verification on planar and cylindrical surfaces. We also carried out measurements to show the performance of this unique concept. These measurements showed that the e-fiber patch antenna had a comparable performance to that of a perfectly conducting (PEC) antenna on a lossless polymer substrate.