Embroidered flexible RF electronics

Abstract

We introduce a novel class of flexible Radio Frequency (RF) electronics composed of conductive fibers on polymer or fabric substrates. The proposed fiber conductors and polymer substrates provide excellent RF characteristics, including mechanical flexibility and conformality. Key to the improved conductivity is the increased stitching density of the employed conductive fibers, reaching >;70 stitches per cm <sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> . Prototype flexible antennas and circuits were fabricated and validated for their RF performance. These were realized by embroidering them on organza fabrics or by integrating them on thin polymer substrates. Their RF performance was found comparable to their conventional copper counterparts. Because of their excellent RF performance and high level of flexibility, these embroidered antennas should lead to a new class of devices expected to provide high data rate, low profile, and reliable operation for RF applications.