Design and Fabrication of a Custom-Dielectric Fresnel Multi-Zone Plate Lens Antenna Using Additive Manufacturing Techniques

Abstract

Dielectric flat plate lens antennas fabricated using 3D printing offer several attractive designs features including volumetric efficient geometries, beam-steering capabilities, and relative ease of fabrication. This paper seeks to synthesize and optimize a lens design for microwave applications utilizing additive manufacturing techniques to implement custom-tailored dielectric materials that overcome the inadequacies of commercially available dielectric resources. Starting with a multi-dielectric Fresnel zone plate lens geometry previously reported in this paper, techniques are implemented to achieve customized dielectric properties. A study of 3D printing materials is conducted to identify commercially available supplies that offer appropriate dielectric properties. Measurement techniques are reviewed to verify the accuracy of the material characteristics (both dielectric constant and loss tangent). Finally, three inhomogeneous concentric-ring lens designs are manufactured using the proposed methods and evaluated to assess the overall performance of the antenna gain patterns and beam-steering capabilities. The result is a low-profile antenna configuration, offering simple, and low-cost fabrication, which can be integrated into compact microwave wireless system applications. INDEX TERMS Additive manufacturing, aperture antennas, beam-steering, dielectric constant, directional antennas, flat lens antenna, Fresnel zone plate lens, microwave antenna. I. INTRODUCTION/BACKGROUND

Fabrication of High Permittivity Resin Composite for Vat Photopolymerization 3D Printing: Morphology, Thermal, Dynamic Mechanical and Dielectric Properties

“…Various 3DP processes have been extensively used in the fabrication of optical [5], THz [6,7], microwave and RF dielectric elements and devices [8,9,10]. For such applications, the dielectric properties of the components are essential for a predictable performance.…”

Full Solar-Spectrum Power-Generation System Based on High Efficiency and Wide Spectral Splitter Film and Fresnel Lens

“…In this section, we should use geometrical optics to design the Fresnel lens. Fresnel lens is widely used to concentration light because of its flat and focusing characteristics [28][29][30][31][32][33].…”

Study on the Preparation and Test of Hydrodynamic Focusing Microfluidic Chip Fabricated by Liquid Crystal Display Mask Photo-Curing Method

“…Although the fabrication process of the chip is simplified, it is easy to cause channel blockage during the bonding process caused by the flow of photosensitive resin. Moreover, many new additive manufacturing methods for micro/nano structures have been developed, including micro stereolithography, two-photon lithography, near-field direct writing and so on [15]- [18]. The micro stereolithography and two-photon lithography method are more suitable for the mold fabrication of PDMS material chip.…”