A Stretchable RF Antenna With Silver Nanowires

Abstract

A stretchable, flexible antenna fabricated with silver nanowires (AgNW) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is presented. Highly conductive AgNWs coupled with mechanically flexibility and durable PDMS are shown to produce promising results for RF sensing. The RF antenna is designed as a 1.5-GHz microstrip patch antenna using the transmission-line model. The resonance frequency of the antenna shifts in response to the applied force/strain, making the configuration suitable for wireless sensing applications.