Investigating additively manufactured Al2O3 Dielectric Resonator Antennas for D-band Applications

  • Abstract:

    Future groundbreaking technologies like self-driving cars and high speed device-to-device communication
    necessitate wider bandwidths. The new trend Beyond 5G ranging from 90GHz to 200GHz also includes D-band which can deliver the required bandwidth. Another technology of increasing interest is Additive Manufacturing (AM); especially considering new ceramic materials like alumina. A high relative permittivity and low losses are typical for alumina. AM may serve as a door opener for innovative products like structures with anisotropic permittivity, Luneburg lenses or Dielectric resonator Antennas (DRAs). Besides the scientific point of view, AM also has economic benefits like low cost and fast production. However, AM manufacturing of ceramic materials has not excessively been studied for D-band yet. As a starting point for combining those technologies, the design, manufacturing and measurement of 3D-printed alumina DRAs for D-band is presented in this work. Additionally, the dielectric properties of printed material are characterized using a waveguide-based Material Characterization
    Kit (MCK). Precisely manufacturing the small parts for Beyond 5G frequencies is addressed for the first time in this thesis. Therefore, artifacts, quantitative and qualitative results of the printing process are thoroughly discussed. Furthermore, the effects of printing parameters on the parts are described. A Rectangular Dielectric Resonator Antenna (RDRA) in a TE mode and a Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna (CDRA) in HEM11 mode are manufactured from alumina (Al2O3) with the Digital Light Processing (DLP) modality. Arrays using the aforementioned singular components are also designed, with the aim to obtain high gain antenna DRAs and investigate the printing of alumina DRA arrays at this frequency. Moreover, the handling of array structures is improved by joining multiple antennas with connective bridges so that a monolithic part is formed. The assembly of Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs), Die Attach Film (DAF) and DRAs form the last manufacturing step. Belonging to this part, the PCB manufacturing is described as well. Antenna measurements, comparison with the simulation results and the discussion of deviations finalize the work.