Textile-integrated three-dimensional printed and embroidered structures for wearable wireless platforms

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Textile-integrated three-dimensional printed and embroidered structures for wearable wireless platforms. / He, Han; Chen, Xiaochen; Ukkonen, Leena ; Virkki, Johanna.

In: Textile Research Journal, Vol. 89, No. 4, 2019.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Scientific › peer-review

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@article{45bb1c0d4c4a4ffe845393312760bd14,

title = "Textile-integrated three-dimensional printed and embroidered structures for wearable wireless platforms",

abstract = "In this paper, we present fabrication and performance evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) printed and embroidered textile-integrated passive ultra high frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) platforms. The antennas were manufactured by 3D printing a stretchable silver conductor directly on an elastic band. The electric and mechanical joint between the 3D printed antennas and microchips was formed by gluing with conductive epoxy glue, by printing the antenna directly on top of the microchip structure, and by embroidering with conductive yarn. Initially, all types of fabricated RFID tags achieved read ranges of 8–9 meters. Next, the components were tested for wetting as well as for harsh cyclic strain and bending. The immersing and cyclic bending slightly affected the performance of the tags. However, they did not stop the tags from working in an acceptable way, nor did they have any permanent effect. The epoxy-glued or 3D printed antenna–microchip interconnections were not able to endure harsh stretching. On the other hand, the tags with the embroidered antenna–microchip interconnections showed excellent wireless performance, both during and after a 100 strong stretching cycles. Thus, the novel approach of combining 3D printing and embroidery seems to be a promising way to fabricate textile-integrated wireless platforms.",

keywords = "antennas, embroidery, interconnections, passive ultra high frequency radio frequency identification, stretchable electronics, textile-integrated electronics, three-dimensional printing, wearable platforms",

author = "Han He and Xiaochen Chen and Leena Ukkonen and Johanna Virkki",

year = "2019",

doi = "10.1177/0040517517750649",

language = "English",

volume = "89",

journal = "Textile Research Journal",

issn = "0040-5175",

publisher = "SAGE Publications",

number = "4",

}

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Textile-integrated three-dimensional printed and embroidered structures for wearable wireless platforms

AU - He, Han

AU - Chen, Xiaochen

AU - Ukkonen, Leena

AU - Virkki, Johanna

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - In this paper, we present fabrication and performance evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) printed and embroidered textile-integrated passive ultra high frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) platforms. The antennas were manufactured by 3D printing a stretchable silver conductor directly on an elastic band. The electric and mechanical joint between the 3D printed antennas and microchips was formed by gluing with conductive epoxy glue, by printing the antenna directly on top of the microchip structure, and by embroidering with conductive yarn. Initially, all types of fabricated RFID tags achieved read ranges of 8–9 meters. Next, the components were tested for wetting as well as for harsh cyclic strain and bending. The immersing and cyclic bending slightly affected the performance of the tags. However, they did not stop the tags from working in an acceptable way, nor did they have any permanent effect. The epoxy-glued or 3D printed antenna–microchip interconnections were not able to endure harsh stretching. On the other hand, the tags with the embroidered antenna–microchip interconnections showed excellent wireless performance, both during and after a 100 strong stretching cycles. Thus, the novel approach of combining 3D printing and embroidery seems to be a promising way to fabricate textile-integrated wireless platforms.

AB - In this paper, we present fabrication and performance evaluation of three-dimensional (3D) printed and embroidered textile-integrated passive ultra high frequency radio frequency identification (RFID) platforms. The antennas were manufactured by 3D printing a stretchable silver conductor directly on an elastic band. The electric and mechanical joint between the 3D printed antennas and microchips was formed by gluing with conductive epoxy glue, by printing the antenna directly on top of the microchip structure, and by embroidering with conductive yarn. Initially, all types of fabricated RFID tags achieved read ranges of 8–9 meters. Next, the components were tested for wetting as well as for harsh cyclic strain and bending. The immersing and cyclic bending slightly affected the performance of the tags. However, they did not stop the tags from working in an acceptable way, nor did they have any permanent effect. The epoxy-glued or 3D printed antenna–microchip interconnections were not able to endure harsh stretching. On the other hand, the tags with the embroidered antenna–microchip interconnections showed excellent wireless performance, both during and after a 100 strong stretching cycles. Thus, the novel approach of combining 3D printing and embroidery seems to be a promising way to fabricate textile-integrated wireless platforms.

KW - antennas

KW - embroidery

KW - interconnections

KW - passive ultra high frequency radio frequency identification

KW - stretchable electronics

KW - textile-integrated electronics

KW - three-dimensional printing

KW - wearable platforms

U2 - 10.1177/0040517517750649

DO - 10.1177/0040517517750649

M3 - Article

VL - 89

JO - Textile Research Journal

JF - Textile Research Journal

SN - 0040-5175

IS - 4

ER -

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