A 2.45 GHz Phased Array Antenna Unit Cell Fabricated Using 3-D Multi-Layer Direct Digital Manufacturing
| Autor: | Eduardo A. Rojas-Nastrucci, Nicholas Arnal, Paul I. Deffenbaugh, Yaniel Vega, Thomas M. Weller, Maria F. Cordoba-Erazo, Casey Perkowski, Thomas P. Ketterl, Mohamed M. Abdin, Kenneth Church, John W. I. Stratton |
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| Rok vydání: | 2015 |
| Předmět: |
Radiation
RF front end Materials science Coaxial antenna business.industry Phased array Antenna measurement Electrical engineering Condensed Matter Physics law.invention Microstrip antenna law Optoelectronics Passive electronically scanned array Dipole antenna Electrical and Electronic Engineering business Monopole antenna |
| Zdroj: | IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques. 63:4382-4394 |
| ISSN: | 1557-9670 0018-9480 |
| DOI: | 10.1109/tmtt.2015.2496180 |
| Popis: | This paper reports on the design, fabrication and characterization of a 3-D printed RF front end for a 2.45 GHz phased array unit cell. The printed unit cell, which includes a circularly-polarized dipole antenna, a miniaturized capacitive-loaded open-loop resonator filter and a 4-bit phase shifter, is fabricated using a direct digital manufacturing (DDM) approach that integrates fused deposition of thermoplastic substrates with micro-dispensing for deposition of conductive traces. The individual components are combined in a passive phased array antenna unit cell comprised of seven stacked substrate layers with seven conductor layers. The measured return loss of the unit cell is ${>}12$ dB across the 2.45 GHz ISM band and the measured gain is ${-}11$ dBi including all components. Experimental and simulation-based characterization is performed to investigate electrical properties of as-printed materials, in particular the inhomogeneity of printed thick-film conductors and substrate surface roughness. The results demonstrate the strong potential for fully-printed RF front ends for light weight, low cost, conformal and readily customized applications. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
| Externí odkaz: |
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