High-precision All-MXene-printed flexible ultra-wideband millimeter-wave endfire antennas based on spoof surface plasmon polaritons for wireless communication

Abstract Flexible millimeter-wave (mmWave) antennas hold great promise for conformal integration across diverse devices and high-speed, large-channel capacity in 5G/6G wireless communications. Spoof surface plasmon polaritons (SSPPs) structure with periodic grooves is well-suitable for designing miniaturized, flexible and ultra-wideband planar mmWave antennas. However, achieving high-precision fabrication of SSPP configurations with optimal micrometer-scale filling factors using flexible conductive materials remains highly challenging. Herein, we report the high-precision all-Ti3C2-printed flexible ultra-wideband mmWave endfire antennas based on SSPPs for wireless communication. The SSPPs antenna exhibits a wide operating bandwidth of 25–49 GHz, which stems from the reactance properties of the ordered multilayer structure of Ti3C2. The S-parameter and gain can be well maintained even after cyclic bending, owing to the robust adhesion between the polydopamine-modified substrate and the Ti3C2 film. This work pioneers the demo instance of flexible Ti3C2 antenna for high-speed (446.06 Mbps), large-capacity, and low-latency mmWave wireless communication.