Conformal antenna on LCP for sensor applications

The design of a novel conformal antenna that demonstrates dual-band operation and nearly omni-directional radiation patterns at the frequencies of operation is introduced in this paper. The antenna is a combination of two monopole antennas; a broadband fat monopole and a folded linear monopole. The antenna is designed on conformal liquid crystal polymer (LCP) material and a styrofoam box is used to support the structure. The antenna can be used for WLAN applications since the bands of operation overlap with the designated frequency ranges for IEEE 802.11 a and IEEE 802.11b protocols. The conformal antenna can be used for applications where the available surface for the front end is limited or when a solid compact three dimensional sensor is needed. The effect of the three dimensional geometry characteristics on the radiation pattern orientation is briefly discussed.