Millimeter-Wave 3-D-Printed Antenna Array Based on Gap-Waveguide Technology and Split E-Plane Waveguide

Abstract

A multilayer aperture antenna array in millimeterwave band is presented in this article. The antenna array is based on glide-symmetric holey gap-waveguide technology combined with E-plane insertion gaps for a low-cost and low-loss design. The radiating part of the antenna array is formed by an array of sixteen aperture antennas, grouped in four sets of 2x2 antenna subarrays in E-plane configuration. The 2x2 subarrays are fed by a one-to-four corporate feeding network in E-plane with holey gap-waveguide technology. The antenna array has been manufactured with high precision stereolithography (SLA) and subsequent metal plating. This design procedure yields a low-cost and low-weight manufacturing process for functional prototypes. The complete array has been manufactured and measured, comparing its performance with the simulation results. Measurements show an input reflection coefficient below -10 dB which ranges from 68 GHz to 74 GHz. The measured radiation patterns suit adequately the defined ones in the design stage. Moreover, gain above 19 dBi in the entire operating frequency band is achieved with a 74.1% mean antenna efficiency.

On the Benefits of Glide Symmetries for Microwave Devices

“…In recent years, a number of prototypes of gap waveguide components implemented with glide-symmetric holes have been published in the literature, including phase shifters [76], [77], filters [78] and antenna arrays [79]. This concept has rapidly evolved, and some authors have proposed alternative implementations based on glide symmetries.…”

A 1-to-8 Fully Modular Stacked SIW Antenna Array for Millimeter-Wave Applications

“…Before the radiation performance measurement of each array configuration, the dielectric losses are estimated, caused by the dielectric substrate employed in the SIW layers. To calculate the estimated value for the tanδ value of the dielectric substrate, a measurement set-up similar to the one presented in [31] to estimate the insertion losses has been adopted. For our case, since we are dealing with SIW technology, the measurement set-up to calculate the insertion losses uses only the longest SIW line of the distribution type-II layer.…”

Waveguide Manufacturing Technologies for Next-Generation Millimeter-Wave Antennas

“…The technology is widely proven in Ku, K, and Ka bands. However, satisfactory work can also be found in higher bands, as shown in [60]. Some Finally, the realized gain and the total radiation efficiency were evaluated experimentally.…”

“…The technology is widely proven in Ku, K, and Ka bands. However, satisfactory work can also be found in higher bands, as shown in [60]. Some designs with polarization versatility, such as those shown in [53] or [58], can also be implemented with SLA technology obtaining high quality and good performance.…”