A study on the efficiency of transparent patch antennas designed from conductive oxide films

Abstract

A study on the efficiency of transparent patch antennas designed from indium tin oxide (ITO) films is presented to provide design guidelines for patch type transparent antennas. The trade-offs between optical transparency and antenna efficiency is analyzed by considering typical material properties of ITO films. It is shown that the efficiency of a patch antenna designed from ITO films is determined by the electron mobility of ITO films, operational frequency, and the substrate material. The study shows that with today's material processing methods, it is feasible to achieve at least 30% efficiency of an ITO antenna with 90% optical transparency for operational frequency higher than 5 GHz. While progress in material science may improve the antenna performance, the highly transparent patch antenna with 30% efficiency may be employed in array design for practical implementations.