A novel wideband circularly polarized antenna array using sequential rotation feeding network is presented in this paper. The proposed antenna array has a relative bandwidth of 38.7% at frequencies from 5.05 GHz to 7.45 GHz with a highest gain of 12 dBi at 6 GHz. A corresponding left-handed metamaterial is designed in order to increase antenna gain without significantly affecting its polarization characteristics. The wideband circularly polarized antenna with 2.4 GHz of bandwidth is a promising solution for wireless communication system such as tracking or wireless energy harvesting from Wi-Fi signal based on IEEE 802.11ac standard or future 5G cellular. A potential application of this antenna as a receiving antenna for RF-DC device to obtain DC power for a wireless sensor node from Wi-Fi signal is shown.

The purpose of this study was to produce a kirigami inspired split ring resonator (SRR) strain sensor. Since the SRR resonance frequency depends strongly on its split gap, one kirigami cut was designed to align with the SRR split gap, allowing SRR resonance frequency to be varied by applying tensile stress. The relationship between frequency and induced strain helps to explain the strain sensing mechanism. Two sheets of paper were used as the dielectric for compatibility with the kirigami technique, and a conductive pattern was inkjet printed on the top paper using silver nanoparticle ink, whereas the ground plane on the bottom paper was inkjet printed using stretchable ink. The two papers were bonded using epoxy strain sensor and S parameters for the fabricated sensor were measured at different strain levels. Resonance frequency increased from 4 to 4.64 GHz for 17.24% applied strain, with measured strain sensitivity=4.2×10 7 Hz/% and minimum detectable strain level ≈0.84%. Measurement results were compared with simulation results. The proposed strain sensor is relatively easy to manufacture, low cost, and disposable because it was inkjet printed on paper.

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Single-resonance-based radio frequency (RF) resonators cannot detect multiple cracks simultaneously nor localize the position of a crack. To address these drawbacks, we propose a complementary split-ring resonator (CSRR)-loaded array. In this array, there are four channels and each channel consists of three CSRRs, forming a 4×3 sensing array that is developed in the ground plane of a microstrip line using a low-cost FR4 substrate. A voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO) generates three discrete frequencies: 1.88 GHz, 2.60 GHz, and 3.61 GHz to each channel, which is sequentially selected using a single-pole four-throw (SP4T) switch. The transmitted RF signals are converted into the DC voltage levels and are interpreted by a microcontroller. Aluminum sheets with cracks embedded in the surface are used to demonstrate the detection of cracks of various shapes, sizes and locations/orientations (horizontal, diagonal, and vertical) with simulations and measurements. The detection of the minimum detectable crack (Wc×Lc×Dc = 1 mm × 10 mm × 0.1 mm) is experimentally verified. Full-length longer cracks (Lc = 100 mm) are also detected using our proposed detection system with the SP4T switch in addition to our proposed algorithm that scans the CSRRs of each selected channel.

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