Stretchable electromagnetic interference shielding and antenna for wireless strain sensing by anisotropic micron-steel-wire based conductive elastomers* *Project supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China (Grant Nos. 2016YFA0200200 and 2017YFB0307001), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 51973093, U1533122, and 51773094), and the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin, China (Grant No. 18JCZDJC36800).

Abstract

We prepare stretchable elastic electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding and stretchable antenna for wireless strain sensing using an elastic composite comprising commercial steel wool as a conducting element. The prepared elastic conductor shows anisotropic electrical properties in response to the external force. In the stretchable range, the electrical resistance abnormally decreases with the increase of tensile deformation. The EMI shielding effectiveness of the elastic conductor can reach above –30 dB under 80% tensile strain. The resonance frequency of the dipole antenna prepared by the elastic conductor is linearly correlated with the tensile strain, which can be used as a wireless strain sensor. The transmission efficiency is stable at about –15 dB when stretched to 50% strain, with attenuation less than 5%. The current research provides an effective solution for stretchable EMI shielding and wireless strain sensing integrated with signal transmission by an antenna.