Designing a Hyperbolic Lens Antenna using 3D Printing Technology

Sammanfattning: To increase capacity, lower latency, and boostdata rates, new higher gain antennas that can transmitmillimeter-waves are needed. Dielectric lens antennas arean attractive potential solution. The J1-project investigatedthe permittivity and losses of four 3D printing filamentsin four frequency bands, to better design a hyperboliclens antenna in the Ka-band with a WR-28 StandardGain Horn Antenna acting as a feed. To measure thedielectric filaments, the TRL calibration method wasevaluated in simulation and employed in measurementstogether with the NRW method for permittivity extraction.Shortcomings of these methods near resonant frequencieswere marginally analyzed in simulation, and the results ofthe processed measured permittivities were shown to havesignificant uncertainty in the loss tangent. Nevertheless thedatasheet specified<(r) =3 was shown to have meanrelative permittivity∗r= 3.53−0.13jin the Ka-band.Using the measurement data, a hyperbolic lens antennawas designed and optimized in simulation for the centerfrequency of the Ka-band at 33.25 GHz. The simulatedresults show an aperture efficiency of 36.2% and a gainof 30.4 dBi.