Evaluation of a wearable hybrid textile antenna

Due to their popularity, antennas implemented on conductive textiles have been widely investigated. Prototypes of full-textile antennas are also usually pre-investigated using conductive foils, which is more homogeneous and provides better mechanical consistency. However, in today´s practical applications, various electronic devices are still implemented on low-cost FR4 boards, popular in printed circuit board (PCB) technology. This work evaluates an FR4-textile hybridization scheme. It studies one topology fabricated using this scheme and compares it with two other fabrication technologies, using either copper foil or a full-textile structure. Through the work done, it is then possible to better estimate the frequency shift in S₁₁ due to the use of a certain build. Measurement of the hybrid antenna in free space indicated bandwidth degradation in comparison to simulations. On the contrary, measurement in proximity of a human arm produced a larger bandwidth. The antennas´ gains and efficiencies when placed in proximity of a human body model are also studied and discussed.