Beihan Zhao, Rafsan Al Shafatul Islam Subad, Hisham Abusalma, Swarup Kumar Subudhi, Christopher Riso, Abhijit Dasgupta and Siddhartha Das
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
For more information about this article and related research, please contact Prof. Abhijit Dasgupta and Prof. Siddhartha Das
Abstract:
Microstrip patch antennas are widely used in wireless systems due to their low profile, lightweight structure, and compatibility with planar and conformal electronics. In this work, we report the fabrication and characterization of carbon nanotube-graphene oxide (CNT-GO) based 3D-printed rectangular patch antennas that can be integrated onto curvilinear and deformable surfaces. The printed antennas are only a few micrometers thick and exhibit strong high-frequency performance. Reflection coefficient (S11) measurements show ultra-wideband behavior, remaining below -10 dB over 12-39 GHz on flat FR4 substrates, while antennas on curvilinear and bendable polylactic acid (PLA) substrates operate across ~7-22 GHz and ~5-25 GHz, respectively. Radiation efficiency was experimentally evaluated, and antenna gain was analyzed via performance after prolonged temperature cycling. These results highlight the potential of CNT-GO printed antennas for lightweight, conformal radio frequency (RF) components in millimeter-wave communications, wearable electronics, and flexible wireless systems.
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