On the development of a novel mixed embroidered-woven slot antenna for wireless applications

Abstract

A novel mixed embroidered-woven coaxial-fed antenna based on a slotted short-circuited textile integrated waveguide has been designed, manufactured, and experimentally validated for its use in wireless applications. The structure of the antenna and the radiating slot can be manufactured using an industrial loom and a laser prototyping machine, respectively, whereas the conductive vias can be manufactured using a commercial embroidery machine, avoiding subsequent treatments or coating. The manufactured antenna presents a central working frequency of 5 GHz and a 20% bandwidth. Good agreement between simulations and measurements has been achieved. In addition, the performance of the antenna has been simulated and analyzed under bent conditions around an air-filled cylinder and using a phantom corresponding to a segment of an arm. This prototype demonstrates the possibility of implementing an all-textile antenna, reducing the backward radiation in comparison to the microstrip-based antennas by the use of a substrate-integrated waveguide topology.