Silver Sandwiched ITO Based Transparent Antenna Array for RF Energy Harvesting in 5G Mid-Range of Frequencies

A transparent antenna array based on silver sandwiched indium tin oxide (AgITO) heterostructure thin films is presented. The AgITO is sputtered on both sides of soda-lime glass (SLG) substrate, and the three thin films deposition parameters are optimized to obtain very low ohmic interfacial contact resistance of less than 1 Omega/Sq. AgITO promotes thin film-based transparent microstrip structure of the proposed antenna array as well as the transparent T-junction power divider. Furthermore, AgITO microstrip as well as opaque single element antenna as reference antennas for a transparent array are presented. The proposed array has wide bandwidth promoting radio frequency energy harvesting at Wi-Fi 2.4, LTE 2600, WLAN, WiMAX and the expected 5G mid-bands. Moreover, it could be functionalized for wireless transmission within the previously mentioned bands. The transparent AgITO array has 5 dBi gain value against 2.3 dBi for the transparent AgITO single element antenna at 5.8 GHz. The array was utilized for radiofrequency energy harvesting, obtaining DC output volt=161.4 mV with a conversion efficiency of 32.9% at 5.8 GHz with RF received power of -10 dBm.

Automated summary

A transparent antenna array based on silver sandwiched indium tin oxide heterostructure thin films has been proposed, with low ohmic contact resistance and wide bandwidth, suitable for radio frequency energy harvesting in multiple frequency bands.