Conformal and Green Electronics: A Wideband Inkjet Printed Antenna on Paper Substrate

A cost effective and environmentally friendly wideband monopole antenna fabricated on flexible paper substrate using a metallic nanoparticle ink is proposed in this paper. By cutting a slot on the main radiator and adding an additional radiator, the bandwidth of the antenna is enhanced. The fabricated antenna prototype has a measured impedance bandwidth of 16.97% for the first band (2.21 - 2.62 GHZ) and 73.68% for the second band, covering the frequency range between 3 - 6.5 GHz. The size of the radiator is 30 x 34 mm(2). The measured and simulated results are in good agreement. The proposed design is suitable for conformal and environmentally friendly "green" electronics.