3D Printed Low Profile Strip-based Helical Antenna

Abstract

A copper strip and conductive paint-based low profile stripped helical antenna for circular polarization over wide axial-ratio (AR) bandwidth are presented. Impacts of strip widths and geometric parameters of the helix on antenna performance (impedance bandwidth, reflection coefficient, AR, gain) are analyzed thoroughly. In terms of performance parameters, the proposed design is also compared with traditional designs of wire and strip-based helical antennas. Proper impedance matching in the proposed design is achieved by the non-conformal placement of the strip. For easing the fabrication complexity, the antenna is again simulated with a dielectric-based supportive structure, and the impact of this additional support is discussed. The antenna is then constructed on a 3D printed polylactic acid (PLA) based structure. Finally, the 1.3-turn strip-based helical antenna with a radius of 18 mm provided impedance and 3-dB AR bandwidths of 99% and 82.52%, respectively. The maximum gain of 9.40 dBi was found at 2.05 GHz in 3-dB AR bandwidth. The height of the presented antenna is 0.35 λ 0 , where λ 0 is the free space wavelength at the frequency of 2.65 GHz. Low profile and wide AR bandwidth facilitate the use of this antenna in space communication.

Three‐dimensional‐printed strip and paint‐based semiellipsoidal helical antenna

“…To achieve high gain and broad AR BW, arrays of MA's are designed with feeding networks and reported in Asrin et al [11][12][13] An overview of additive manufacturing and various antenna construction by utilizing this technique has been shown in Helena et al [14][15][16] Successful uses of polylactic acid (PLA) material and 3D printing for a strip-based helical antenna are reported in Ghosh and Harackiewicz. 17 The work presented here is focused on a single-arm strip-based semiellipsoidal helical antenna with details fabrication and measurements. In our work, first, the wire-based SEHA was analyzed by varying the scaling factors in the axial direction for observing the circular polarization over a 3-dB AR BW.…”

“…Besides 3D helical antenna, microstrip antennas (MA) are also used for producing circular polarization but it produces less gain. To achieve high gain and broad AR BW, arrays of MA's are designed with feeding networks and reported in Asrin et al 11–13 An overview of additive manufacturing and various antenna construction by utilizing this technique has been shown in Helena et al 14–16 Successful uses of polylactic acid (PLA) material and 3D printing for a strip‐based helical antenna are reported in Ghosh and Harackiewicz 17 …”

Fabrications of electrically small hemispherical antenna

“…Works have also been done to fabricate complexshaped helix antennas using 3D printing and conductive paint. [14][15][16] In this work, the ESA design is scaled up at a frequency of 1.85 GHz for assessing the applicability of additive manufacturing in small and complex-shaped structure. Moreover, conductive strip-based folded ESA with constant strip widths, and conformal placement is new compared with its wire counterpart which provided more flexibility of choosing conductor materials.…”

“…A rapid prototype of a wire‐type ESA was fabricated by Kim et al 13 The author used a successive polycrystalline copper coating on a 3D‐printed dielectric structure using a selective laser sintering (SLS) technique. Works have also been done to fabricate complex‐shaped helix antennas using 3D printing and conductive paint 14–16 …”