Claims
- 1. An apparatus comprising:electrical circuitry; and an antenna electrically connected with the electrical circuitry, the antenna for communicating radio frequency signals with a base station, the antenna comprising: a composite material comprising electrically conducting particles mixed in a polymer material, wherein the composite material has a resistivity having a predetermined value low enough that the radio frequency signals activate the electrical circuitry.
- 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrical circuitry comprises a semiconductor chip.
- 3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises electrically conducting pads which are in direct electrical contact to the composite material.
- 4. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises electrically conducting pads which are in wire bonded electrical contact to the composite material.
- 5. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises electrically conducting pads which are in wire bonded electrical contact to a metal pad which is in direct electrical contact with the composite material.
- 6. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the semiconductor chip comprises metal bumps which are in direct electrical contact to the composite material.
- 7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrically conducting particles are metal.
- 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electrically conducting particles are silver.
- 9. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electrically conducting particles are copper coated with silver.
- 10. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the electrically conducting particles are copper coated with gold.
- 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the polymer material is an elastomer.
- 12. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the polymer material is thermoplastic.
- 13. The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the electrically conductive particles occupy at least 30% by volume of the composite material.
- 14. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the electrically conducting particles are electrically conducting polymeric particles.
- 15. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the resistivity of the composite material is in the range from about 10 micro-ohm-cm to about 40 micro-ohm-cm.
- 16. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the antenna is flexible.
- 17. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the antenna and the electrical circuitry are attached to a substrate.
- 18. The apparatus of claim 17, wherein the substrate is a flexible substrate.
- 19. The apparatus of claim 17, further comprising a battery electrically attached to the electrical circuitry.
RELATED PATENTS AND APPLICATIONS
Related U.S. Patents assigned to the assignee of the present invention include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,044, which is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/2339,609, filed Nov. 15, 1994 (now abandoned). Other U.S. Pat. Nos. include: 5,521,601; 5,528,222; 5,538,803; 5,550,547; 5,552,778; 5,554,974; 5,563,583; 5,565,847; 5,606,323; 5,635,693; 5,673,037; 5,680,106; 5,682,143; 5,729,201; 5,729,697; 5,736,929; 5,739,754; 5,767,789; 5,777,561; 5,786,626; 5,812,065; 5,821,859; 5,828,318; 5,831,532; 5,850,181; 5,874,902; 5,889,489; 5,909,176; and 5,912,632. U.S. patent applications assigned to the assignee of the present invention include: application Ser. No. 099/119,569, filed Jul. 20, 1998, which is a division of 08/1734,492 (now U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,044. The above identified U.S. Patents and U.S. Patent applications are hereby incorporated by reference.
US Referenced Citations (5)