Typically, the largest circuit component in wireless electronic devices such as mobile phones is the antenna, which sends and receives electromagnetic waves. The tiniest antennas available are made up of wires twisted into three-dimensional coils to save on space while maintaining high radiation efficiency and wide bandwidth. But bending wires is cumbersome and expensive.

Credit: C. PFEIFFER & P. HALEY

Stephen Forrest and Anthony Grbic at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and their colleagues report a way to rapidly transfer metallic patterns directly onto a curved polymer, which can be pre-moulded to a desired shape. Stamping the pattern onto a hemispherical polymer, for instance, produces miniature high-performance antennas curled in spherical helices (pictured).

Adv. Mater. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/adma.201104290 (2012)