Antenna Design Using 3D Printing

Abstract

In radio broadcasting, communications receivers, radar, cell phones, and satellite communications, and etc., antennas are used frequently to convert electric power into radio waves, and vice versa. Typically, an antenna comprises an arrangement of metallic elements. Accuracy of fabrication, conductor loss, and feeding could be major contributors to define low efficiency for antennas. Therefore, the dielectric lens is proposed to tackle those problems because it is non-mental and it has comparatively small feeding loss. The principle of periodic AR (Anti-reflection) structure is introduced to improve the overall performance of antenna. With the use of lens elements, a fixed-beam circular array is built up to illustrate the effect of AR structure. Meanwhile, 3D printing technology is employed to reduce the production cost and manufacturing process. However, the 3D printer assigned to me has limitation in terms of printing quality. This increases difficulty for the design, fabrication process, and measurement. Apart from the design of antenna, theory of OAM (Orbital Angular Momentum) is evaluated in this report with circular array to demonstrate, theoretically, the channel capacity in wireless communication can be improved by its characteristics. Eventually, simulation and practical measurement are carried out to verify the design concept.