Transparent Antennas:

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

How a new transparent antenna material delivers
peace of mind solving wireless design challenges
of 5G, IoT and automotive safety systems

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 “THE DEVELOPMENT OF NEWER IOT, 5G, AND
AUTOMOTIVE RADAR DEVICES WITH UNIQUE
ENCLOSURES MOTIVATES THE NEED FOR
ADVANCED ANTENNA MATERIALS THAT CAN
MEET STRICT FORM FACTOR REQUIREMENTS. ”

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 INTRODUCTION

W
ith origins reaching back to existing antenna materials? If antennas could

ALOHAnet in 1971, a be made transparent, escaping the bounds of

confluence of protocol an enclosure, could they “hide in plain sight” or

advancements and mass adoption of devices be adhered to the outside of existing devices to

such as smartphones have cemented “cutting overcome the challenges of new applications?

the cord” using RF signals as the preferred Better yet, could this new material deliver equal

method of connectivity for an ever-growing or better performance to traditional materials

array of data consuming devices. Despite the so not requiring the rationalization of design

rapid escalation in wireless speed and the tradeoffs typically found with new materials?

explosion in connected devices, the technology

A new class of transparent conductive material
enabling all this connectivity – the antenna –
– CNT hybrids – delivers the conductivity
has failed to keep pace with these technological
required for high performance antenna
advancements.
applications while achieving near transparency

With the rollout of 5G necessitating more to effectively make antennas disappear.

antennas closer to the point of use to achieve Currently being used to revolutionize IoT

high-bandwidth line of sight connections products, 5G antenna arrays, and automotive

and manufacturers seeking to retrofit IoT sensors, this white paper presents a range of

connectivity in a broad range of devices, commercially available alternative materials and

have performance and design requirements how the CNT hybrid empowers designers with

finally exceeded the capabilities provided by new options for innovation.

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NEXT-GEN MATERIALS
BRING NEXT-GEN ANTENNAS
It is often said that necessity is the mother greater use of short and long-range radar for ADAS

of invention, but the history of science and systems, all operating at high GHz frequencies.

technology has shown that the reverse is often

The key factor enabling these systems and
true. As the telecom industry has grown and
applications is highly efficient antennas with
matured, and as higher over-the-air data rates have
small form factors and low loss tangent at 10-100
become available, computing workloads can be
GHz frequencies. When we look at desired form
moved from the cloud to the edge, which opens
factors for 5G, IoT, and automotive systems, a
up applications that were formerly the stuff of
flexible, transparent antenna material enables new
science fiction. Future IoT devices and 5G products
applications that are difficult or impossible with
will be processing more data at the edge than ever
current materials. experience.
before, and all while communicating with each

other and the cloud. Newer automobiles will also

need to communicate with each other and smart

infrastructure over VANETs, and they will make

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 The current antenna solution for these resistance can be easily molded to a device

products is copper phased array antennas, enclosure and function as a highly efficient

which must be etched onto a PCB laminate transparent antenna. By engineering the

with low loss tangent at such high frequencies. supporting substrate, it becomes possible

Other small form factor solutions on the to tune absorption to the desired RF band

market include chip antennas, a variety of without sacrificing transparency at visible

SoCs, and transceiver modules with integrated wavelengths. Using a transparent frequency-

antennas operating in WiFi, Bluetooth, cellular, selective surface (FSS) material as a ground

and K or W radar bands. These solutions plane also allows the directionality of the

respectively provide antennas with very low antenna in various frequency bands to be

sheet resistance or high efficiency in specific tuned. This ability to adapt the material to

RF bands. However, the specialized PCB unique enclosures, tune the absorption band,

laminates required to support these solutions and tune the radiation pattern with an FSS

carry high costs and restrict designers to helps designers maximize signal strength and

planar antennas behind an enclosure. As a provide desired directionality. Cost is also a

result, the enclosure can still interfere with critical factor to ensure scalability and to satisfy

antenna transmission/reception. upcoming market demand for TCFs, which is

expected to exceed $5 billion by 2022.

TCFs are one class of materials that provide

a solution to these design challenges in the

above areas. Any TCF must provide high

efficiency, high gain, low cost, and low profile,

as well as being easily fabricated with unique

geometry. A flexible TCF with low sheet

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Image: Courtesy CHASM - TCF Antenna AgeNT-1
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THE CURRENT STATE OF TCFS AS POSSIBLE
ANTENNA MATERIALS
Although not particularly new, the variety of • Simple manufacturing process: The

flexible TCFs reported in the literature and on fabrication process for an ideal flexible TCF

the market is extensive, and many materials should be easy to scale and carry low costs.

have been specialized for different products. The number of deposition, curing, etching,

The current range of flexible TCFs includes and cleaning steps should be minimized.

metal oxides, conductive polymers, metal

• Patterning over a large area: A larger
nanostructures, and MMs.
has a larger absorption cross section for

While these materials can be fabricated on detecting low-level signals. A flexible TCF

a flexible substrate like PET, they all carry antenna should be scalable up to any

some common disadvantages that inhibit desired size with patterned geometry.

scalable manufacturing or their use as high

Metal nanostructures
efficiency antenna materials in high-GHz RF

products. The primary design requirements Metal nanostructures satisfy the first design

for commercializable flexible TCFs as antenna requirement listed above, but they have

materials are: significant haze and are translucent with

low VLT in the visible range. They are also

• Low sheet resistance: Designers that want
costly to manufacture on transparent flexible
flexible TCFs for antennas need a material
substrates at the scale needed for their
with sheet resistance not greater than 1
envisioned applications, requiring processes
OPS.
like photolithography for substrate patterning,

• High VLT and low haze: Transparent followed by sputtering, solution growth, or

conductors should be nearly invisible (at vapor deposition.

least 90% VLT) and have less than 5% haze.

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“ANY TCF MUST PROVIDE HIGH EFFICIENCY,
HIGH GAIN, LOW COST, AND LOW PROFILE,
AS WELL AS BEING EASILY FABRICATED WITH
UNIQUE GEOMETRY. ”

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 MM Films with a photolithographic process. Using

photolithography allows the desired

MMs are similarly un-promising as
conductor pattern to be deposited directly
GHz antenna materials thanks to their
on the substrate, but it requires multiple
sheet resistance of at least ~3 OPS.
develop, etch, strip, and cleaning steps,
These materials can be nearly invisible
just as is the case with MMs. Laser ablation
as long as the mesh size is less than ~6
is also useful for patterning on glass, but it
microns, but fabricating this pattern
can damage a flexible plastic or polymer
requires an electroless copper process or
substrate. This process also requires
photolithography process, both of which
significant laser time, which increases
are followed by etching.
overall patterning costs.

Patterned Transparent Metal Oxide Films

Conductive Polymers

Other materials, such as metal oxide TCFs,

Conductive polymers run the gamut
only satisfy the fourth design requirement.
on satisfying these requirements. Ag
Getting sheet resistance below 2.5 OPS
nanowires mixed with PEDOT:PSS
is a major challenge, making these
(a popular TCF) provides very high
materials unsuitable for use as high-
transparency, but its sheet resistance is
efficiency antennas. The morphology
much too large for use as an antenna. It
of these materials makes them hazy
remains to be seen whether a conductive
with insufficient VLT (up to ~80%) for
polymer TCF material with high VLT can be
antenna applications. The patterning
found and produced at scale.
process for metal oxide TCFs is inefficient

in that it requires a subtractive process,

or it requires direct pattern deposition

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COMPARING CURRENT OPTIONS

FINDING ALTERNATIVE MATERIALS

Obviously, it has been difficult to find materials paired with a transparent flexible FSS material on

that can satisfy all the above requirements. A clear the back side of the antenna, designers now have

alternative is a hybrid material that provides the another lever to control directionality in specific

high transparency of an open MM with low sheet frequency bands.

resistance and fewer manufacturing steps. A new

The newest class of hybrid TCF materials can
class of printable carbon nanotube hybrid materials
be formed by depositing or printing a CNT ink
offers a solution to this unique set of problems and
deposited on a Cu MM substrate, where the MM
will enable a new class of IoT, 5G, and automotive
is available on a flexible transparent material such
radar devices with flexible transparent printed
as PET. This type of TCF can be manufactured with
antennas.
fewer steps and competitive costs compared to

Hybrid Metal Mesh and Carbon Nanotube TCFs printed metal oxide TCFs. Designers then have

freedom to place a conformal antenna anywhere

Any flexible transparent antenna material needs to
on the device enclosure, including on optical
have less than 1 OPS sheet resistance in order to
elements. This also leaves additional space on a
provide efficiency and gain that are comparable to
PCB that would have been dedicated to a specialty
patch or microstrip antennas on PCBs. The newest
SoC, wireless module, or printed Cu antenna (e.g.,
class of materials also needs to be printable, flexible,
microstrip antenna or patch antenna array).
and highly transparent at visible wavelengths. Once

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 The SEM image below shows an example nanostructures, or meshes. CNTs can be

of such a hybrid material with single- placed in an ink suspension, which can

walled CNTs printed on a Cu MM. The then be printed on MM/PET substrates.

stack of PET, MM, and CNTs forms a unique When coated on the substrate, the CNTs

flexible TCF with lower sheet resistance and metal form a flexible TCF with <1

and higher VLT (> 95%) than metal oxide OPS sheet resistance. Rather than using

TCFs, bare metal nanostructures, MMs, sputtering and ablation processes for

and conductive polymer TCFs. The hybrid patterning, the CNT ink can be printed in

CNT film also encapsulates the conductive the desired pattern, and the uncoated MM

substrate, which provides additional substrate layer can be removed from PET

environmental stability and ensures the with an etchant.

entire film remains conductive if micro-

fractures form during bending.

Manufacturing Process for CNT Hybrids

This type of film has a very simple

fabrication process compared to

patterned TCFs made from metal oxides,

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COMPARING CURRENT OPTIONS & CNT HYBRIDS

94%

The structure of this type of hybrid CNT film is ideal for printing a patterned antenna structure, where

the underlying conductive substrate determines the opacity of the hybrid TCF. When working with an

MM substrate, VLT can be kept far above 90% and haze can be kept low as long as ~90% of the MM is

left open for CNT deposition. When working at higher RF frequencies, the required gap region in the

MM film is smaller (i.e., one-half the carrier wavelength). This gives a designer a simple way to control

absorption transmitting/receiving frequency of a TCF antenna.

 “ WITH UNIQUE HYBRID CNT FILMS ON FLEXIBLE
TRANSPARENT SUBSTRATES, IOT, 5G, AND
AUTOMOTIVE RADAR DESIGNERS CAN MOLD A
TRANSPARENT ANTENNA TO AN ENCLOSURE,
OPTICAL ELEMENT, OR FOLDABLE ELEMENT IN
THEIR DESIGN. “

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BRINGING IT TOGETHER
With unique hybrid CNT films on flexible trans- This hybrid CNT solution gives designers a flex-

parent substrates, IoT, 5G, and automotive radar ible transparent antenna that can be mounted

designers can mold a transparent antenna to an anywhere on the device, including directly on a

enclosure, optical element, or foldable element PCB. It also gives antenna designers the ability

in their design. For IoT and 5G applications, to tailor the bandwidth, resonance structure,

designers can tailor the emission pattern and directionality, and other antenna characteris-

directionality through the use of a flexible TCF tics while preserving high VLT with low sheet

and transparent FSS as a flexible substrate. For resistance. Next-generation 5G-capable IoT and

radar, designers can create integrated optical/RF automotive products need advanced antenna

sensors as these transparent antenna materials designs that can only be provided by hybrid

could be molded onto optical devices, such as CNT TCFs.

cameras and lidar systems.

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