Effects of Different Manufacturing Techniques on the Performance of Planar Antennas

Abstract

This study investigates antenna performance based on its manufacturing process. Two types of planar antennas are manufactured on FR-4 dielectric using three different techniques: traditional lithography, laser ablation, and the novel SSAIL (selective surface activation by laser) technique. Various characteristics, such as reflection coefficient, gain, half-power beamwidth, and surface conductivity, are measured to compare the results. These findings can provide valuable guidelines for selecting an optimal antenna manufacturing technique. In both types of antennas, the highest gain is achieved using laser ablation, with the slot loaded patch antenna reaching 8.5 dBi and the Yagi-Uda antenna reaching 9.76 dBi. Antennas manufactured using SSAIL technology are notable for their great resolution and usefulness in constructing structures on non-metallized dielectrics.

Direct Laser Writing: From Materials Synthesis and Conversion to Electronic Device Processing

“…As such, the focus of the fabrication shifted from clean room to printing and coating processes, such as inkjet, flexography, gravure, screen printing and spray coating, doctor-blade, and dip-coating, respectively. [8,[341][342][343][344][345][346] These approaches offer the possibility of depositing different materials on several rigid or flexible substrates. Furthermore, printing techniques allow patterning the materials while depositing them without material waste.…”

“…However, when compared to conventional techniques, such as lithographic fabrication, DLW also poses some challenges, mostly associated with synthesized material morphology, including the interface with the substrate and surface uniformity, relevant when designing and simulating antenna models. [341] In 2018, E. Balliu et al studied selective laser sintering of inkjet-printed silver NP inks on paper substrates. Highly conductive silver patterns were utilized to fabricate a fully functional hybrid near-field communication (NFC) tag on a paper substrate.…”