Material choices of honeycomb structures and their effects in mm-wave RLSAs

Abstract

This paper investigates the material choices to create the honeycomb structures to be used as the dielectric spacers inside the Radial Line Slot Antennas (RLSAs). Nomex® and Quartz fibers are studied and compared in many aspects such as electromagnetic properties, physical behaviors, or market availabilities. Each material has its own advantages and disadvantages. 90cm RLSAs fabricated using the same slot design, with different material choices; and the peak gain of the RLSA with Quartz honeycomb structure is 46.2dB, which improves 1.5dB from a 44.6dB peak gain of the RLSA with Nomex® honeycomb structure.