Inkjet-Printed Flexible Reconfigurable Antenna for Conformal WLAN/WiMAX Wireless Devices

Abstract

A new flexible reconfigurable antenna based on the concept of folded slot antennas is reported. The device is designed on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate, and inkjet-printing technology is used to fabricate the prototype. One p-i-n diode is incorporated on the antenna surface to redirect and redistribute the surface current resulting in a reconfigurable antenna in terms of frequency and polarization. When the p-i-n diode is forward biased (ON), the antenna has a single band at 2.42 GHz for WLAN wireless devices. However, when the p-i-n diode is reversed biased (OFF), the antenna is dual-band with different polarizations at 2.36 and 3.64 GHz for WLAN and WiMAX wireless devices, respectively. The proposed antenna is simulated, fabricated, and tested for both flat and curved geometries, such as circumferential and axial cylindrical configurations, with good agreement between measurements and simulations.