Textile Based Antennas
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Textile Based Antennas J. Slade, J. Teverovsky, B. Farrell, J. Bowman, M. Agpaoa-Kraus, Dr. P. Wilson, FosterMiller Inc., Waltham, MA 02451, U.S.A.; J. Pederson, J. Merenda, BAE Systems, Greenlawn, NY 11740-1600, U.S.A; W. Horowitz, E. Tierney, Offray Specialty Narrow Fabrics LLC, Watsontown, PA 17777, U.S.A.; Carole Winterhalter, U.S. Army Soldier Systems, Natick R&DE Center, Natick, MA, 01760-5019, U.S.A. Introduction The increasing desire to internet the soldier on the battlefield requires a new approach to outfit the soldier with communications systems capable of operating in multiple frequency domains as shown in Table 1. Outfitting the soldier with multiple unwieldy antennas often results in the equipment being left behind, used improperly or broken. The ultimate in unobtrusive antennas is one that conforms to the body and does not interfere with the normal degrees of freedom of the soldier’s uniform. Conformal antennas mounted on the body must take into account the electrical properties of the body, particularly at frequencies above 30 MHz. In addition, integration into the textile structure requires that the antenna be isolated from effects of clothing usage including clothing movement, wet operation, washing, and mechanical abrasion. Table 1. Military Bands of Interest for Textile Based Antenna Development Squad Radio EPLRS Radio Soldier Radio Soldier Radio GPS
30 to 88 MHz 225 to 400 MHz 1750 to 1850 MHz 2400 MHz 1375 to 1555 MHz
Singars Body-Conformal Antenna Development for the 30-88 MHz Range In a recent joint effort BAE Systems and Foster Miller have developed a body conformal dual loop antenna system that operates in the 30 to 88 MHz frequency range (Figure 1). A working prototype of this system is shown at left in Figure 2. Some of the key features of this novel antenna design include: - Developed for applications where battery power must be conserved - Electrically small while highly efficient - Uses 15 times less power than conventional antenna technology - Synthesizes its own radiation requiring no power amplifier - Supports broadband waveforms - Results in omni directional radiation in all body positions Foster-Miller and Offray Specialty Narrow Fabrics converted the rigid feed and radiator design shown at left in Figure 1 into a flexible textile format. The textile radiators and working antenna modules were then integrated into a MOLLE vest as shown at right in Figure 2 and tested in both transmit and receive. Results were comparable with the whip
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antennas currently used to cover this frequency range. More encouraging however was the fact that this performance could be achieved at a small fraction of the power consumption. Work is currently being performed by BAE to shrink the antennas electronics modules to reduce weight and simplify integration. A nonfunctional mockup was created for evaluation using estimates of the dimensions of these low profile overmolded IC antenna modules as shown at bottom in Figure 3.
Figure 1. Radiation Pattern of a Dual Loop Antenna
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