Body integrated
wearable electronics can be used for health monitoring, security and wellness
purpose. Due to the complex structuring, asymmetric surface of human body and
atypical motion such as stretching in elbow, finger joints, wrist, knee, ankle,
etc. electronics integrated to body need to be physically flexible, conforming
and stretchable. In that context, state-of-the-art electronics are unusable due
to their bulky, rigid and brittle framework. It is therefore critical to
develop stretchable electronics which can physically stretch to absorb the
strain associated with body movements. While research in stretchable
electronics has started getting momentum, a stretchable antenna which can
perform far-field communications and can operate at constant frequency, such
that physical shape modulation will not compromise its functionality, is yet to
be realized. Here, we show a stretchable antenna, using a low-cost metal
(copper) on flexible polymeric platform, which functions at constant frequency
of 2.45 GHz, for far-field applications. While mounted on a stretchable fabric
(typically found in Spandex) worn by a human subject the fabricated antenna
communicated at a distance of 80 meters with 1.25 mW (= 1 dBm) transmitted
power. If the transmitted power is increased to 10 dBm then this range value
would go up to 225 meters for the antenna mounted on a human body. This work
shows an integration strategy from compact antenna design for enhanced data
communication capability to its practical experimentation for more robust
functionality and enhanced communication capability in future generation
wearable electronics.
Fantastic work,
Aftab! A supremely collaborative work with Prof. Atif Shamim’s group at KAUST
and Prof. John Rogers’ group in UIUC.
Metal/Polymer Based Stretchable Antenna for Constant
Frequency Far-Field Communication in Wearable Electronics
Aftab M. Hussain, Farhan A. Ghaffar, Sing I. Park, John A. Rogers, Atif Shamim, Muhammad M. Hussain
You can read the paper in Advanced Functional Materials as
soon as it is published online!