In this paper, the design, fabrication, and test of an additive manufactured double-ridged horn antenna optimized to work in ultra-wide-band frequencies is introduced. In particular, to build this antenna, the fused deposition modeling fabrication method is selected. The plastic-made device is then coated by using conductive ink. The double-ridged horn is conceived as a monolithic block. In this way, performance degradations caused by fabrication inaccuracies are minimized. A very good agreement between the simulations and the antenna measurements is demonstrated. The proof-of-concept prototype has an outstanding operational bandwidth performance of 11.5 GHz (fc 8.25 GHz) with a gain of 6 dBi; its total weight is less than 200 gr, and the total prototyping fabrication costs are less than 10 Euro per antenna with a lead time of less than a week.
2. Timbie, P. T., J. Grade, D. Weideb, B. Maffeid, and G. Pisano, "Stereolithographed MM-wave corrugated horn antennas," Proceeding of the 36th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz), 1-4, 2011.
3. Van der Vorst, M. and J. Gumpinger, "Applicability of 3D printing techniques for compact Ku-band medium/high-gain antennas," Proceeding of the 10th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), 1-4, 2016.
4. Bieren, A. E. Rijk, J.-Ph. Ansermet, and A. Macor, "Monolithic metal-coated plastic components for mm-wave applications," Proceedings of the 39th International Conference on Infrared, Millimeter, and Terahertz Waves (IRMMW-THz), 1-2, 2014.
5. Vieira, K., S. Kristoffersen, J. Moen, K. Gjertsen, and T. Sverre, "Broadband antenna design using different 3D printing technologies and metallization processes," Proceedings of the 10th European Conference on Antennas and Propagation (EuCAP), 1-5, 2016.
6., "ETS-3117 datasheet,", ETS-Lindgren Corporation, Cedar Park, USA, [Available online] http://www.ets-lindgren.com/specs/3117.
7., "R&S R®HF907 datasheet,", Rohde & Schwarz, Munich, Germany, [Available online] https://www.rohde-schwarz.com/us/product/hf907-productstartpage 63493-7982.html.
8. Rong, Y. and K. A. Zaki, "Characteristics of generalized rectangular and circular ridge waveguides," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 48, No. 2, 258-265, Feb. 2000.
doi:10.1109/22.821772
9. Ghorbani, M. and K. N. Toosi, "Double ridged horn antenna designs for wideband applications," Proceeding of 19th Iranian Conference on Electrical Engineering (ICEE), 1-5, 2011.
10. Tenigeer, N. Zhang, J. Qiu, P. Zhang, and Y. Zhang, "Design of a novel broadband EMC double ridged guide horn antenna," Progress In Electromagnetics Research C, Vol. 39, 225-236, 2013.
doi:10.2528/PIERC13032803
11. Rodriguez, V., "New broadband EMC double-ridge guide horn antenna," RF Design Mag., May 2004.
12., "Makerbot Replicator+ datasheet,", stratasy, [Available online] https://www.makerbot.com/replicator/.
Submit
