Strain powered antennas

Abstract

This paper proposes the creation of strain powered antennas that radiate electromagnetic energy by mechanically vibrating a piezoelectric or piezomagnetic material. A closed form analytic model of electromagnetic radiation from a strain powered electrically small antenna is derived and analyzed. Fundamental scaling laws and the frequency dependence of strain powered antennas are discussed. The radiation efficiency of strain powered electrically small antennas is contrasted with a conventional electric dipole. Analytical results show that operating at the first mechanical resonance produces the most efficient strain powered radiation relative to electric dipole antennas. A resonant analysis is exploited to determine the material property space that produces efficient strain powered antennas. These results show how a properly designed strain powered antenna can radiate more efficiently than an equally sized electric dipole antenna.