3D printed dielectric lens for the gain enhancement of a broadband antenna

Abstract

A novel 3D printed dielectric lens to enhance antenna gain parameters is presented. The lens is fabricated using a fused deposition method (FDM) which is a cost‐effective and an efficient 3D printing technique. Poly‐methyl methacrylate (PMMA) is used as a dielectric material due to its good RF properties. The thickness of the dielectric lens is 14 mm and provides a gain enhancement of up to 6.9 dBi over a wide frequency range. The dielectric lens is designed and computationally analyzed to demonstrate refractive index value close to zero. It has been shown that impedance‐matched near‐zero refractive index lens geometry eliminates strong reflections, and consequently enhances the antenna gain. A correlation is established between the individually, stacked unit cell layers and near‐zero refractive index cut‐off frequencies. The claim is substantiated through measured results using a broadband Vivaldi antenna. A gain enhancement of up to 6.9 dBi is recorded for the bandwidth from 13.5 to 24 GHz. An excellent correlation is reported between the measured and simulated results.

Cost-effective wideband dielectric planar lens antenna for millimeter wave applications

“… Meas. Presented work 42.4 34 26.5 25.7 − 20 − 17.7 34 15.4 26 22.2 – − 15.2 – 14 40 15 22 20 − 16 − 13.8 35 54.1 18.5 14.4 13.8 − 10.4 − 13.3 36 24.8 60 19 18.3 – − 18 37 6.7 30 22.7 22 − 15.7 − 18 22 38.8 34 24 24 − 10 − 13 …”

A broadband metal coaxial resonator antenna loaded with dielectric lens

“…The material of the lens is acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) plastic. In Reference 16 and 17, high gain is obtained by using multilayer DLs made by 3D printing, and the lens materials are poly‐methyl methacrylate (PMMA) and polylactic acid (PLA) respectively. However, the multilayer structure often makes the longitudinal dimension of the lens too large.…”

“…The DL composed of seven‐layer units with periodic resonant peaks is designed to increase the antenna gain by more than 6 dBi in a wide frequency band. In Reference 16, by designing the number of layers of the DL unit, the lens obtains a refractive index close to 0 in a wide frequency band, thereby obtaining a broadband gain enhancement effect. High‐gain multilayered cylindrical dielectric lens antenna (MLCDLA) is obtained by combining cylindrical dielectric layers of different sizes 17 .…”

Design and implementation of a 3D printed RF power transceiver clamp to measure the water level in PVC water pipes

“…Until recently, 3D printing and production of microwave circuits have become widespread. These circuits, which stand out with their simple, cheap and easy production, are used in many microwave antenna and component designs 12‐16 . In this study, the clamp, which is printed with a 3D printer, consists of a simple mechanism that can be placed around the pipe and transmit power.…”