Stretchable, Multi-Layered Stack Antenna for Smart/Wearable Electronic Applications

Abstract

The development of microelectronics has been achieved by improving its performance through miniaturization. This was possible through the development of silicon-based semiconductor process technology, but recently, the demand for wearable or flexible devices has increased. These devices are made using various functional elements based on materials that are difficult to utilize with semiconductor devices that contain existing hard silicon-based materials and are bent or flexibly stretched. In this study, wireless antennas suitable for wearable devices were implemented in a stretchable form. It was possible to stably receive a wireless signal, even with a strain of 20% or more, and power light-emitting diodes (LEDs), microheaters, etc. By devising a multi-layered stack antenna without the existing semiconductor process, it was possible to improve the antenna’s reception performance. It is expected that this can be applied in various ways to smart wireless sensors and wearable biomedical devices using the near-field communication (NFC) of smartphones.