Flexible wideband antenna for 5G applications

A modified microstrip patch antenna is implemented on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a thickness of 0.125 mm for 5G applications. The wideband antenna of 60 x75 mm(2) total dimensions is fabricated using novel inkjet printer and silver nano-particles as the conductive ink. The designed and fabricated antenna operates within 7 to 13 GHz and exhibits almost omnidirectional radiation pattern with an average gain of 5 dBi. The flexible antenna was also tested under bending conditions and showed good performance within the X-band region. The originality of the work lies in the combination of the antenna's structure, flexibility, and targeted frequency of operation.