Carbon nanotubes show promise for 5G antennas

The Rice lab of chemical and biomolecular engineer Matteo Pasquali tested antennas made of so-called "shear-aligned" nanotube films, which are also claimed to be more flexible and tougher than their copper counterparts. The researchers discovered that not only were the conductive films able to match the performance of commonly used copper films, they could also be made thinner to better handle higher frequencies.

The results detailed in Applied Physics Letters take forward the lab's previous work on antennas based on carbon nanotube fibres. Lead author Amram Bengio has founded a company to further develop the material.

At the target frequencies of 5, 10 and 14 gigahertz, the antennas easily held their own with their metal counterparts, Bengio said in a statement. "We were going up to frequencies that aren't even used in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth networks today, but will be used in the upcoming 5G generation of antennas.”

To make the films, the Rice lab dissolved nanotubes, most of them single-walled and up to eight microns long, in an acid-based solution. When spread onto a surface, the shear force produced prompts the nanotubes to self-align.