The 3D-Printed Non-Radiating Edge Gap-Coupled Curved Patch Antenna

Abstract

The use of parasitic resonant patches is a widespread technique to improve the bandwidth of microstrip patch antennas. Exploiting the free form-factor allowed by 3D-printing manufacturing technology, we present here a novel curved patch antenna layout, based on the non-radiating edge gap-coupled patch configuration. The proposed antenna is composed of a central curved patch, fed by a coaxial probe, and two gap-coupled parasitic side curved patches. This solution features a percentage impedance bandwidth of 16.3% using symmetrical parasitic side patches and 31.5% using asymmetrical side patches. A significant improvement of the bandwidth in comparison with both the standard non-radiating edge gap-coupled microstrip antenna (6.1% bandwidth) and the standard curved patch antenna (9% bandwidth) is achieved. Design and optimization of the proposed configuration are performed using the commercial software CST Studio Suite at the center frequency of 2.45 GHz. Prototypes of the symmetrical curved non-radiating edge gap-coupled patch antenna have been manufactured for the experimental verification, using a curved 3Dprinted polylactic acid (PLA) substrate, fabricated with the commercial 3D printer PRUSA MK3S+, and a 50µm-thick adhesive aluminum tape for the metallization. Measured results show a very good agreement with simulations.INDEX TERMS Curved patch, Bandwidth enhancement, Microstrip antennas, 3D printed antennas

Design and analysis of triple-bands microstrip patch nanoantenna for terahertz applications

“…The substrate performs several crucial functions in antenna construction. Firstly, it offers mechanical support for the conducting elements of the antenna, which are typically printed onto the surface of the substrate [20].…”