A 3-D Printed Microstrip Patch-Fed Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna

Abstract

A low profile microstrip patch-fed cylindrical dielectric resonator antenna (CDRA) is presented in this paper. The antenna geometry is composed of two different dielectric resonators (DRs) and a microstrip fed triangle-shaped patch element. Three-dimensional (3-D) printing technique is used to fabricate one set of DR from Polylactic acid, whereas the other set of DR is made from Alumina powder. The overall antenna structure exhibits a broadband −10 dB impedance bandwidth of 30.86% around the center frequency 8.75 GHz, an improved gain (> 6 dBi) throughout the wide bandwidth, and a relatively stable broadside radiation pattern. The use of 3-D printing technique in realizing an improved DR antenna is demonstrated through the proposed design. Several parametric variations and electric field distributions are also presented for analyzing the proposed antenna geometry.