A Compact Low-Cost and Lightweight 3-D Printed Horn Antenna for UWB Systems

Hossain, Ababil; Wagner, Samuel G.; Pancrazio, Stephen; Pham, Anh‐Vu

doi:10.1109/aps/ursi47566.2021.9704737

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

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“…This necessitates the design, fabrication, and testing of custom antennas for signal transmission and reception, which is presented here for two lightweight and inexpensive copper clad laminate (CCL) FR-4 horn antennas. Alternative fabrication techniques such as additive manufacturing with metallization were explored following successful demonstrations in the literature of lightweight and inexpensive 3D printed antennas [40][41][42][43]; however, several prototypes suffered from delamination and warping due to the size of the components, the small nozzle extrusion width for a higher print accuracy and smoothness, and the resultant increase in print time which made it difficult to regulate the chamber and component temperatures. CCL, which is typically used as a base material for Printed Circuit Boards (PCB), was therefore explored as an alternative conductive, lightweight, and inexpensive manufacturing material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Development of Copper Clad Laminate Horn Antennas for Drone Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar

Carpenter

Lawrence

Ghail

et al. 2023

Drones

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Interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) is an active remote sensing technique that typically utilises satellite data to quantify Earth surface and structural deformation. Drone InSAR should provide improved spatial-temporal data resolutions and operational flexibility. This necessitates the development of custom radar hardware for drone deployment, including antennas for the transmission and reception of microwave electromagnetic signals. We present the design, simulation, fabrication, and testing of two lightweight and inexpensive copper clad laminate (CCL)/printed circuit board (PCB) horn antennas for C-band radar deployed on the DJI Matrice 600 Pro drone. This is the first demonstration of horn antennas fabricated from CCL, and the first complete overview of antenna development for drone radar applications. The dimensions are optimised for the desired gain and centre frequency of 19 dBi and 5.4 GHz, respectively. The S11, directivity/gain, and half power beam widths (HPBW) are simulated in MATLAB, with the antennas tested in a radio frequency (RF) electromagnetic anechoic chamber using a calibrated vector network analyser (VNA) for comparison. The antennas are highly directive with gains of 15.80 and 16.25 dBi, respectively. The reduction in gain compared to the simulated value is attributed to a resonant frequency shift caused by the brass input feed increasing the electrical dimensions. The measured S11 and azimuth HPBW either meet or exceed the simulated results. A slight performance disparity between the two antennas is attributed to minor artefacts of the manufacturing and testing processes. The incorporation of the antennas into the drone payload is presented. Overall, both antennas satisfy our performance criteria and highlight the potential for CCL/PCB/FR-4 as a lightweight and inexpensive material for custom antenna production in drone radar and other antenna applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%