The Use of 3D Printing Technology for Manufacturing Metal Antennas in the 5G/IoT Context

Sensors

Diogo Helena¹  JoãoN. Matos¹  Tiago Varum¹  Amélia Ramos¹ 

[1] Instituto de Telecomunicações, Campus Universitário de Santiago, 3810-193 Aveiro, Portugal;

关键词: 3D printing;    metal antennas;    horn antennas;    IoT sensors;    5G;   

DOI  :  10.3390/s21103321

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

With the rise of 5G, Internet of Things (IoT), and networks operating in the mmWave frequencies, a huge growth of connected sensors will be a reality, and high gain antennas will be desired to compensate for the propagation issues, and with low cost, characteristics inherent to metallic radiating structures. 3D printing technology is a possible solution in this way, as it can print an object with high precision at a reduced cost. This paper presents different methods to fabricate typical metal antennas using 3D printing technology. These techniques were applied as an example to pyramidal horn antennas designed for a central frequency of 28 GHz. Two techniques were used to metallize a structure that was printed with polylactic acid (PLA), one with copper tape and other with a conductive spray-paint. A third method consists of printing an antenna completely using a conductive filament. All prototypes combine good results with low production cost. The antenna printed with the conductive filament achieved a better gain than the other structures and showed a larger bandwidth. The analysis recognizes the vast potential of these 3D-printed structures for IoT applications, as an alternative to producing conventional commercial antennas.

【 授权许可】

Unknown