Design Considerations for a Meshed Carbon Nanotube Thread Patch Antenna

A meshed carbon nanotube thread patch antenna is proposed and analyzed through full-wave electromagnetic simulation. The effects of thread spacing and of fabricating the feedline and ground-plane layers from meshed thread are explored. Results indicate that minimal impact on antenna radiation efficiency and usable bandwidth is achieved with a thread spacing of d ≤ λ/30. A minor center frequency shift and reduction in realized gain and bandwidth occurs when the thread spacing is increased. When the feedline and/or ground plane is constructed from meshed carbon nanotube thread material, the realized gain is significantly reduced. Improvements to carbon nanotube thread conductivity should mitigate this reduction in realized gain.