Inkjet-printed patch antenna emitter for wireless communication application

Abstract

This research focuses on exploring low-cost and rapid production solutions for fabricating emitters for patch antennas for wireless communication applications. Additive manufacturing technique is employed to fabricate two patch antennas using silver nanoparticle ink on FR4 substrate. Finite-element simulation software, HFSS is used to analyse and predict the theoretical performance of the antenna designs for 2.4 GHz MIMO and 6 GHz wireless data transmission. The fabricated antennas have resonant frequencies closely matching the design values. The work provides a viable solution for fabricating emitters and finally antennas commercially using inkjet printing platform, thus overall reducing the cost and simplifying the process.