Performance Analysis of Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube, Composite Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube, and Copper-Based Antenna in X-Band Applications

In this paper, three different materials, such as copper, MWCNT, and MWCNT composite PU/MWCNT (polyurethane C₂₇H₃₆N₂O₁₀), are used as conducting structures for the design of a rectangular patch antenna, which resonate in X-Band (8–12 GHz). These antenna structures are implemented using FR-4 substrate, having a dielectric constant of 4.4 and with a loss tangent of 0.02. This work concentrates on the comparison of these three antennas in terms of their performance metrics like return loss, VSWR, impedance bandwidth, gain, and radiation efficiency. Initially, these antennas are simulated using HFSS and fabricated. Their performance is tested using ROHDE&SCHWARZ ZVB 20 vector network analyzer. From the results, it is clear that among the three antennas, MWCNT-based antenna design provides wider impedance bandwidth when compared to composite MWCNT and copper-based structures, whereas PU/MWCNT exhibits similar bandwidth as of MWCNT, but it offers more mechanical strength, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. Thus, both MWCNT and composite MWCNT are equally applicable in the X-band range. Both simulated and fabricated results are presented in this paper.