Research on Poppers Used as Electrical Connectors in High Speed Textile Transmission Lines

Abstract

This paper presents results of research on poppers used as electrical connectors connecting fragments of textile signal lines. These lines can be used in intelligent clothing for connecting electronic modules implemented in it. Intelligent (smart) clothing can be used, among others, in the health monitoring of the elderly, newborn babies, or people working in hazardous conditions, for example, firefighters and soldiers. The aim of the present study was to examine the usefulness of poppers, widely used in clothing, as electrical connectors connecting parts of the textile signal lines designed for transmission of high-speed digital signals. The paper presents examples of measured parameters characterizing transmission properties of two fragments of the coplanar, textile transmission line connected to each other using conventional poppers. The presented measurement results contain the so-called s parameters, characteristic impedance of the poppers, and eye measurements characterizing distortions of digital signals passing through the tested line. In the article, the effect of temperature and humidity of air surrounding the tested poppers on their characteristic impedance was also presented. This property and its stability are important in signal lines designed for high-speed data transmission.

Keywords

• smart clothing
• electrical connectors
• textile transmission lines
• textronic clothing
• e-textiles
• smart textiles