Session 6: RF & Security

Surface Agnostic Conformable Antenna Arrays
Wednesday, February 14, 2018
8:25 AM - 8:45 AM

The Boeing Company is working with NextFlex and a university partner to mature multilayer patterning technologies for array antennas using advanced manufacturing on flexible surfaces. This talk will present a low profile surface agnostic conformable antenna array developed in part with funding from the NextFlex Flexible Hybrid Electronics Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (FHE-MII). The goal of this program is improve the manufacturing readiness level of FHE technologies for RF antenna applications. Initial products include a 2x2 and 4x4 antenna with circular polarization. The Boeing 2x2 array has a 10% bandwidth, is less than 1 mm thick, operates on any backplane, and can be bent to a radius less than four inches. Our antennas have been demonstrated at D-band (2.4 GHz) and X-band (10 GHz). 2x2 arrays operating at 10 GHz have been measured with gain of 9.4 dBi and a 3 dB beamwidth greater than 60 degrees. Our team will show a 4x4 array using conductive ink. Furthermore, this presentation will provide a direct comparison of the antenna performance between printed ink and copper laminate. Both processes demonstrate sufficient antenna gain, coverage, and VSWR for use in a variety of applications. This effort provides a path for the development of low cost flexible antennas that can be mounted either permanently or temporarily to complex contours for commercial and military applications.