A Lattice-Hinge-Design-Based Stretchable Textile Microstrip Patch Antenna for Wireless Strain Sensing at 2.45 GHz

Area of Science:

• Electrical Engineering
• Materials Science
• Wearable Technology

Background:

• Combining flexible and stretchable textile materials for antennas presents adhesion challenges, limiting overall stretchability.
• Existing designs struggle to integrate multiple layers without compromising mechanical performance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To design and fabricate a novel stretchable patch antenna for simultaneous strain sensing and wireless data communication.
• To overcome the limitations of integrating diverse textile materials in stretchable antenna designs.

Main Methods:

• Incorporated a lattice hinge pattern into the non-stretchable conductive e-textile to create a stretchable structure.
• Introduced longitudinal cuts in the patch and ground plane for perpendicular stretching.
• Utilized a 2 mm thick Polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) substrate.

Main Results:

• Achieved a maximum of 25% stretchability, significantly higher than designs without the lattice hinge.
• Demonstrated a linear resonant frequency shift at 2.45 GHz when strained up to 25%, suitable for strain sensing.
• Observed enhanced conformability and flexibility compared to solid patch antennas.
• Measured E-plane and H-plane gains of 2.21 dBi and 2.34 dBi, respectively.

Conclusions:

• The lattice hinge pattern effectively transforms non-stretchable e-textiles into stretchable antenna structures.
• The developed antenna is suitable for both general communication and as a sensing element in wearable applications.
• This approach offers a simple and effective solution for stretchable textile antennas in communication and sensing fields.