Abstract
A dielectric rod antenna array fed by slot antenna radiators without the use of metallic waveguide is presented here. Communication systems, especially those related to 5G, are moving up into mm-wave bands where metal losses can become significant and many traditional fabrication and manufacturing techniques become more difficult. Dielectric rod antennas (DRA) are entirely made of dielectric and may be injection-molded or 3D-printed as solid rods, layered rods, or tubes. While the normal approach to feeding DRAs involves some version of metallic waveguide, we show here that the DRA may be integrated with a planar radiator feed and used effectively in an array configuration. The array demonstrated is a $2 \times 2$ array designed for operation at 15 GHz. Each DRA is $6\lambda $ long. The array is fabricated on a 100 mm $\times$ 100 mm substrate with 52 mm separation between elements. The array radiation efficiency is 80% for an array gain of 19 dBi.
Highlights
T HIS paper presents the design and performance of a 2 x 2 array of 3D printed cylindrical high gain dielectric rod antennas that is integrated with a planar feed network
Given the relative simplicity of feeding the array of high gain antennas using planar transmission lines, the technology is amenable to low cost, compact package-level integration
As communication technologies continue to move toward operation at higher frequencies, especially with the current push into mm-wave bands, dielectric rod antennas (DRA) are a good low-cost alternative for achieving high gain with minimal use of metal
Summary
T HIS paper presents the design and performance of a 2 x 2 array of 3D printed cylindrical high gain dielectric rod antennas that is integrated with a planar feed network. Given the relative simplicity of feeding the array of high gain antennas using planar transmission lines, the technology is amenable to low cost, compact package-level integration These could be useful for mmwave base-stations, automotive radar, directional wireless routers and similar applications. The feed mechanisms for the dielectric rods typically include some form of a metallic waveguide for support or for setting up the modes necessary for launching a surface wave along the rod Most of these are hollow metallic waveguidefed designs [4], [7]–[17]. All simulations in this paper were performed using the Ansys High Frequency Structure Simulator (HFSS) version 2020R1
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