3D Printed Hemispherically Radiating Antenna for Broadband Millimeter Wave Applications

Nowadays, additive manufacturing provides far-reaching possibilities for use in radio frequency components. In addition to almost unlimited freedom of design as compared to conventional manufacturing, the absence of further assembly steps is a key aspect of 3D printing. In this paper, a 3D printed monolithic antenna for millimeter wave-sensing applications is presented with a full hemispherical coverage. The antenna is designed as an ensemble of a waveguide horn antenna and a differentially fed dipole antenna. The slotted waveguide approach was utilized to improve the manufacturing quality on the waveguide inside. The influence of two optimized antenna elements, a metal plane, and a cut-out window, on the beam pattern is comprehensively investigated. A huge half power beam width of 142 degrees in both directions, elevation and azimuth, is presented at 79 GHz and a boresight gain of 4.7 dBi was measured. The beam pattern in the frequency range from 76 to 81 GHz is studied in greater detail, where a half power beam width of at least 112 degrees is achieved. Due to the -10 dB matching capability bandwidth of over 28 GHz, the antenna is also suitable for extremely broadband applications with a -5 dB angular width of better than 100 degrees. Furthermore, the system design describes how to integrate the antenna into hybrid circuit designs and the manufacturing tolerances are examined. The antenna offers attractive possibilities for millimeter wave-sensing applications in the area of assisted living and industrial monitoring, especially whenever blind spots have to be avoided.