3D‐printed cylindrical Luneburg lens antenna for millimeter‐wave applications

Abstract

A 3D-printed cylindrical Luneburg lens antenna working at 26 GHz is proposed in this article. The antenna consists of a feeding waveguide, a 3D-printed cylinder, and a pair of printed metal grids which are stuck on the side faces of the cylinder. 3D-printed structure ensures the convenience for processing and structural integrity of the Luneburg lens. Hole drilling technology is utilized for the design of the cylindrical lens. In the E-plane, conversion of spherical waves into planar waves is achieved based on the gradient refractive index which is realized by the gradient equivalent relative dielectric constant. The main part of the lens contains a hole drilling region to realize the desired equivalent permittivity from 1.23 to 2, while another gradual-thickness region realize the permittivity ranges from 1.23 to 1. Hprobe method is utilized for the optimization of the gradual-thickness region in this article. And for the H-plane, with the grids, H-field distribution is optimized compared with the Luneburg lens antenna without the loading grids. Thus, the side lobe level (SLL) in H-plane could be reduced. Meanwhile, a narrower half power beamwidth (HPBW) in H-plane will be obtained due to the metal grids. Experiment results illustrate the feasibility and validity of the proposed 3D-printed cylindrical Luneburg lens antenna. K E Y W O R D S 3D-printed, cylindrical, half power beamwidth (HPBW), hole drilling, H-probes, Luneburg lens, side lobe level (SLL)

Antenna Design Using Modern Additive Manufacturing Technology: A Review

“…The production of dielectric antennas using 3D printing technology is considerably natural given the high precision of some 3D printers and the characteristics of the polymer materials normally used in 3D printing. In this way, it is possible to create dielectric components that require fine details and high precision, such as gradient index lenses [45] - [49], dielectric rod antennas [50] - [52], and electromagnetic crystals [53] - [54].…”

A K / Ka ‐band dielectric and metallic 3D printed aperture shared multibeam parabolic reflector antenna for satellite communication

“…The ultraviolet light emitted by the laser is controlled by computer to irradiate the surface of the specified material tank liquid to solidify it. The surface tension of the liquid state resin helps to smooth over the profile that polishing becomes unnecessary . By doing this, the reflection from the traditionally metallic supporting and feed structures disappear.…”

“…The surface tension of the liquid state resin helps to smooth over the profile that polishing becomes unnecessary. [20][21][22][23] By doing this, the reflection from the traditionally metallic supporting and feed structures disappear. The inner surface of the feed horn is metal plated to ensure the minimum reflective surface.…”

A novel lens antenna with wide beamwidth using three dimensional printing

“…In Reference 17, a comb mushroom‐like dielectric lens has been fabricated by three‐dimensional printing, and the lens was used for stable gain enhancement of log‐periodic dipole antenna. In Reference 18, the cylindrical three‐dimensional printing luneburg lens antenna has been reported, and which was used for millimeter wave applications. In Reference 19, a K‐band antenna array has been introduced, and the quasi‐pyramidal‐horn has been fabricated through metal three‐dimensional printing technology.…”