Optically Transparent Honeycomb Mesh Antenna Integrated into OLED Light Source

Abstract

The co-integration of antennas with lighting sources appears as an effective way to distribute broadband networks closer to users, lowering interference and transmitted power, as well as to reduce energy consumption in future lighting systems. We here present an original contribution to the implementation of transparent and invisible antennas with OLED light sources. To validate the proposed approach, the honeycomb mesh technique was used, and an optical transparency of 75.4% was reached. The transparent mesh antenna was compared with the non-transparent full-metal antenna in terms of radio-electrical parameters. Our prototype was designed using copper films deposited on a glass substrate. The simulation results of the S-parameters and the radiation patterns were validated against measurements performed in an anechoic chamber. The directivity and gain obtained were 6.67 dBi and 4.86 dBi at 5.16GHz, respectively. To study the effect of antenna integration with OLEDs, optical and photometric characterizations with and without the antenna were measured, and the colorimetric parameters were then treated using the IES TM-30-18 standard.