On the Integration of Antennas With Touch Sensor Panels

Abstract

Next generation personal electronic devices have optically transparent (OT) touch sensor as an indispensable component of the user interface and rely extensively on high-speed wireless connectivity. Since the real estate for these compact devices is limited, the integration of miniaturized antennas is very challenging. This paper discusses several strategies on integrated antennas in this regard, and presents a flexible OT touch sensor panel with a coplanar antenna element operating at 2.4 GHz for Bluetooth and Wi-Fi applications. The designed touch sensor panel has been characterized for its touch performance. Investigations have also been carried out on the antenna element and little to no change in its radiation performance has been observed upon touch.