Flexible and Stretchable Antennas for Biointegrated Electronics

Abstract

Combined advances in material science, mechanical engineering, and electrical engineering form the foundations of thin, soft electronic/optoelectronic platforms that have unique capabilities in wireless monitoring and control of various biological processes in cells, tissues, and organs. Miniaturized, stretchable antennas represent an essential link between such devices and external systems for control, power delivery, data processing, and/or communication. Applications typically involve a demanding set of considerations in performance, size, and stretchability. Some of the most effective strategies rely on unusual materials such as liquid metals, nanowires, and woven textiles or on optimally configured 2D/3D structures such as serpentines and helical coils of conventional materials. In the best cases, the performance metrics of small, stretchable, radio frequency (RF) antennas realized using these strategies compare favorably to those of traditional devices. Examples range from dipole, monopole, and patch antennas for far-field RF operation, to magnetic loop antennas for near-field communication (NFC), where the key parameters include operating frequency, Q factor, radiation pattern, and reflection coefficient S₁₁ across a range of mechanical deformations and cyclic loads. Despite significant progress over the last several years, many challenges and associated research opportunities remain in the development of high-efficiency antennas for biointegrated electronic/optoelectronic systems.

Keywords: antennas; flexible electronics; liquid metal; stretchable electronics; wireless communication.