Light Weight and Conformal 2-Bit, 1 $,\times,$ 4 Phased-Array Antenna With CNT-TFT-Based Phase Shifter on a Flexible Substrate

This paper presents the development and characterization of an ink-jet printed 2-bit, 1×4 phased-array antenna (PAA) system on a flexible Kapton polyimide substrate utilizing carbon nanotube thin-film transistors (CNT-TFTs) as switching elements in the phase-shifting network. A multilayer metal inter connection strategy is used to fabricate a complete PAA system with control lines. By appropriately controlling the ON and OFF states of various switches, a 4.99 GHz signal is steered from 0° to -27°, and the measured far-field radiation patterns agree very well with the simulated data. Bending tests performed on the fabricated system at bending radii of 6.5 cm, 9.5 cm, 12 cm, and 24 cm also demonstrate good agreement with the simulations.