Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics

With the exponential increase in smart device usage across various domains, flexible and conformal antenna technologies have emerged as transformative solutions, enabling wireless systems in numerous smart applications. However, selecting a suitable flexible and conformal substrate remains challengi...

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Main Authors: M. A. Taher, Mohamadariff Othman, Hazlee Azil Illias, Tarik Abdul Latef, Tengku Faiz Tengku Mohmed Noor Izam, S. M. Kayser Azam, Muhammad Ubaid Ullah, Mohamed Alkhatib, Mousa I. Hussein
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Access
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10839422/
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author M. A. Taher
Mohamadariff Othman
Hazlee Azil Illias
Tarik Abdul Latef
Tengku Faiz Tengku Mohmed Noor Izam
S. M. Kayser Azam
Muhammad Ubaid Ullah
Mohamed Alkhatib
Mousa I. Hussein
author_facet M. A. Taher
Mohamadariff Othman
Hazlee Azil Illias
Tarik Abdul Latef
Tengku Faiz Tengku Mohmed Noor Izam
S. M. Kayser Azam
Muhammad Ubaid Ullah
Mohamed Alkhatib
Mousa I. Hussein
author_sort M. A. Taher
collection DOAJ
description With the exponential increase in smart device usage across various domains, flexible and conformal antenna technologies have emerged as transformative solutions, enabling wireless systems in numerous smart applications. However, selecting a suitable flexible and conformal substrate remains challenging because of the intricate characteristics and performance considerations of each material. Additionally, most applications of these substrates are confined to specific areas, such as body-worn devices, biomedical uses, and health services. In contrast, the use of ultra-high frequency (UHF, 0.3–3 GHz) antennas is largely concentrated in radio frequency identification (RFID) and telecommunications, with limited exploration in other areas. Recently, UHF antennas have gained attention for unconventional applications, including high-voltage (HV) defect detection, particularly partial discharge (PD) diagnosis. However, practical challenges arise due to the rigidity of commercial substrate materials. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on flexible and conformal UHF antennas’ applicability for PD diagnostics, a field that remains underexplored. We systematically assess the electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of various flexible and conformal substrates relevant to UHF antenna development. In this investigation, we thoroughly analyse five substrate materials, namely polyimide (PI), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Rogers laminates, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and several types of UHF antennas including planar monopole, spiral antenna, Hilbert antenna, biconical antenna, and so on. The synthesis of this research delivers a complete roadmap, addressing existing limitations and proposing future directions for PD diagnosis by conformal and flexible antennas.
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institution Kabale University
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language English
publishDate 2025-01-01
publisher IEEE
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spelling doaj-art-f0ea6b66ff0d4ad6a7fc3abc5fbafc002025-01-24T00:02:08ZengIEEEIEEE Access2169-35362025-01-0113101391015910.1109/ACCESS.2025.352912810839422Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge DiagnosticsM. A. Taher0https://orcid.org/0009-0001-6290-8757Mohamadariff Othman1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0563-5000Hazlee Azil Illias2https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5061-1809Tarik Abdul Latef3https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5130-9997Tengku Faiz Tengku Mohmed Noor Izam4https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2816-2506S. M. Kayser Azam5Muhammad Ubaid Ullah6https://orcid.org/0009-0003-0162-1431Mohamed Alkhatib7https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8505-1586Mousa I. Hussein8https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2186-9883Department of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, MalaysiaDepartment of Electrical and Communication Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesDepartment of Electrical and Communication Engineering, United Arab Emirates University, Al Ain, United Arab EmiratesWith the exponential increase in smart device usage across various domains, flexible and conformal antenna technologies have emerged as transformative solutions, enabling wireless systems in numerous smart applications. However, selecting a suitable flexible and conformal substrate remains challenging because of the intricate characteristics and performance considerations of each material. Additionally, most applications of these substrates are confined to specific areas, such as body-worn devices, biomedical uses, and health services. In contrast, the use of ultra-high frequency (UHF, 0.3–3 GHz) antennas is largely concentrated in radio frequency identification (RFID) and telecommunications, with limited exploration in other areas. Recently, UHF antennas have gained attention for unconventional applications, including high-voltage (HV) defect detection, particularly partial discharge (PD) diagnosis. However, practical challenges arise due to the rigidity of commercial substrate materials. This paper provides a comprehensive survey on flexible and conformal UHF antennas’ applicability for PD diagnostics, a field that remains underexplored. We systematically assess the electrical, mechanical, and thermal properties of various flexible and conformal substrates relevant to UHF antenna development. In this investigation, we thoroughly analyse five substrate materials, namely polyimide (PI), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), Rogers laminates, polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and several types of UHF antennas including planar monopole, spiral antenna, Hilbert antenna, biconical antenna, and so on. The synthesis of this research delivers a complete roadmap, addressing existing limitations and proposing future directions for PD diagnosis by conformal and flexible antennas.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10839422/Conformal and flexible substrateshigh voltagepartial discharge detectionpolyimidepolydimethylsiloxanepolyethylene terephthalate
spellingShingle M. A. Taher
Mohamadariff Othman
Hazlee Azil Illias
Tarik Abdul Latef
Tengku Faiz Tengku Mohmed Noor Izam
S. M. Kayser Azam
Muhammad Ubaid Ullah
Mohamed Alkhatib
Mousa I. Hussein
Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics
IEEE Access
Conformal and flexible substrates
high voltage
partial discharge detection
polyimide
polydimethylsiloxane
polyethylene terephthalate
title Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics
title_full Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics
title_fullStr Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics
title_full_unstemmed Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics
title_short Conformal and Flexible Antennas in Ultra-High Frequencies: Prospects and Challenges for Partial Discharge Diagnostics
title_sort conformal and flexible antennas in ultra high frequencies prospects and challenges for partial discharge diagnostics
topic Conformal and flexible substrates
high voltage
partial discharge detection
polyimide
polydimethylsiloxane
polyethylene terephthalate
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/10839422/
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