Printed Motes for IoT Wireless Networks: State of the Art, Challenges, and Outlooks

• Published in: IEEE transactions on microwave theory and techniques Vol. 65; no. 5; pp. 1819 - 1830
• Main Authors: Hester, Jimmy G. D., Kimionis, John, Tentzeris, Manos M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01.05.2017; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Additive manufacturing; Chemical sensors; Energy harvesting; Energy management; Environmental monitoring; Fabrication; flexible electronics; Form factors; inkjet printing; Internet of Things; Internet of Things (IoT); mm-wave; Modules; Nodes; Power consumption; Production costs; Radio frequency; Sensor phenomena and characterization; smart skins; Wireless communication; Wireless networks; Wireless sensor networks; wireless sensors
• ISSN: 0018-9480; 1557-9670
• DOI: 10.1109/TMTT.2017.2650912

Although wireless sensor networks (WSNs) have been an active field of research for many years, the modules incorporated by WSN nodes have been mainly manufactured utilizing conventional fabrication techniques that are mostly subtractive, requiring significant amounts of materials and increased chemical waste. The new era of the Internet of Things (IoT) will see the fabrication of numerous small form factor devices for wireless sensing for a plurality of applications, including security, health, and environmental monitoring. The large volume of these devices will require new directions in terms of manufacturing cost and energy efficiency, which will be achieved with redesigned, energy-aware modules. This paper presents the state of the art of printed passives, sensors, energy harvesting modules, actives, and communication front ends, and summarizes the challenges of implementing modules that feature low power consumptions without compromising the low fabrication cost. The plethora of the modules presented herein will facilitate the implementation of low cost, additively manufactured, energy-aware IoT nodes that can be fabricated in large volumes with green processes.