Microstrip antenna from silver nanoparticles printed on a flexible polymer substrate

Abstract

This work describes the use of inkjet printing technology to fabricate a flexible microstrip antenna. The antenna is printed on a flexible PET foil (Polyethylene terephthalate) using silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles were synthetized by the solvothermal precipitation technique. The diameter of the prepared silver nanoparticles ranges from 20 to 200 nm measured with the help of the SEM analysis. In addition, the ink formulation for printing of a homogenous and electrically conductive layer was further prepared using silver nanoparticles. The printed antenna operates in two frequency bands of 2.02 GHz (–16.02 db) and 2.3 GHz (–19.33 db). The antenna is flexible and weigh is only 0.208 g and is suitable for electronic devices of a very low weight, such as wearable electronic devices.