Conformal Textile-based Wearable Antenna for Onbody Wireless Communication Applications

This article presents a conformal textile wearable antenna designed in the Sub- <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$\mathbf{6 ~ G H z}$</tex> frequencies for on-body wireless application. This antenna uses denim (jean fabric) as the substrate material, which provides flexibility, comfort, and compatibility with wearable systems. The antenna is remarkably conformable to the human body, with compact dimensions of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$40 \times 25 \times 1 \text{mm}^{3}$</tex> and favourable performance. The antenna can be calibrated for different ranges of frequency from 2.75 GHz to 6 GHz, which cover the most well-known sub-6 frequency bands (WiMAX, Wi-Fi, and ISM), making it ideal for potential applications in various wireless standards. Impedance matching stability and good radiation performance are shown via simulation and experimental results. Such a design reflects the performance improvement that can enable the textile-based antennas for these applications and builds a foundation for efficient and practical onbody communication systems.