Polymer-based antennas

Fleming CN, Maxwell KA, DeSimone JM, Meyer TJ, Papanikolas JM. Ultrafast excited-state energy migration dynamics in an efficient light-harvesting antenna polymer based on Ru(II) and Os(II) polypyridyl complexes. J Am Chem Soc 2001 123 10336-47. 

Shakhtour, H., Heberling, D., Breckenfelder, C., 2013. Fiber-reinforced polymer based patch antenna for automotive and avionic applications. In 35th ESA Antenna Workshop on Antenna and Free Space RF Measurements, 10-13 September 2013. ESTC, Noordwijk, The Netherlands. 

Early generation RFID antennas were produced by chemically etching aluminum or copper foils and laminating them with polymer films ranging in thickness from 18-35 microns. However, today antennas are typically printed on polymer base substrates using conductive inks, an inexpensive and cost-effective way for different radio frequency waves to be received. Since the label typically requires opacity, a white carrier and facestock material, such as a paper stock, are used. An adhesive is applied to the carrier with a formulation designed to provide transportation-secure adhesion to the surface to which the RFID label is to be mounted. 

Supermolecular interlocked macromolecules have been paid much attention as candidates of smart materials. Polyrotaxane (PRX) is a typical example. PEG/ cyclodextrin (CD)-based polyrotaxane was firstly reported by Harada and coworkers by attachment of stoppers to pseudopolyrotaxane (pPRX) consisting of a PEG and CDs [263]. Subsequently, many CD-based PRXs have been designed and prepared as smart materials such as biomaterials, light-harvesting antennae, insulating polymers, stimuli-responsive molecular shuttles etc. [264—268]. 

Conductors are required in several areas in printed electronics. Conductors are used to form low-resistance interconnects, and antennae, as well as to form contact electrodes within transistors. Based on conductivity requirements, a range of conductors exist, ranging from flake inks (typically not inkjettable, and therefore not considered here), to nanoparticle inks and polymer conductors. 

Interesting antenna systems based on polymers have also been designed by Fox and co-workers [26], They prepared a series of well-defined block copolymers labeled with aromatic chromophores and demonstrated that directional singlet energy migration across the block interface takes place, whereas extensive exciplex formation, a decay channel which dissipates electronic energy in flexible polymers, is strongly inhibited in these special polymers. 

Generally speaking, an antenna for light harvesting is an organized multicomponent system in which several chro-mophoric molecular species absorb the incident light and channel the excitation energy to a common acceptor component. Artificial antenna systems based on porphyrin arrays [63], multichromophoric cyclodextrins [64], polynuclear metal complexes [65, 66], dendrimers [66-68], and polymers [69, 70] have been reported. In all these systems, the chromophoric units are connected by means of covalent... 

Polymers used in a typical mobile phone include acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene (ABS) or PC for the outer case because of their weight reducing qualities and their durability. Good transparency is imperative for the screen for which PC or PMMA may be chosen. Connector manufacturers have several options with polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) and polyamide (PA) providing stability. Eor safety reasons elastomers provide the raw material for antennas. PCB base material is invariably an epoxy resin because it offers heat resistance and design flexibility. The components themselves may... 

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