Design of a plexiglass rod antenna

Abstract

A dielectric rod antenna designed for maximal gain at the frequency band of 5-6 GHz is presented in this paper. A simulation using CST Microwave Studio results in gains of 12 to 15 dBi with beamwidths of 30° in both E and H planes making the dielectric rod antenna a sensible alternative to Yagi-Uda antennas as it performs in a similar fashion and is less sensitive to manufacturing tolerances. Multiple polymers were measured in order to find proper material for the rod resulting in using a cheap, affordable and low-loss material plexiglass.