Parametric study on radiation efficiency of woven textile antennas

In this paper, we report results of parametric study on the radiation efficiency of woven textile antennas using full-wave simulations and measurements. The parameters of interest are the conductive thread diameter and intervals between the threads consisting of a rectangular woven patch. In a full-wave simulation tool, rectangular patch antennas are modeled by weaving conductive threads with different thread diameters and intervals. The results show that the radiation efficiency increases with a wider interval between the threads when a thicker conductive thread is used. This contrasts with the common assumptions that radiation efficiency increases as more conductive material is used. These results are also validated by experiments on woven patch antennas fabricated with silver-coated threads.