3D-Printed Dielectric Superstrates for Broadband and High-Gain Antennas

The 3D printing with dielectric filaments has a wide potential in the fabrication of superstrates of Resonant Cavity Antennas. Ease of prototyping, compared to traditional machining techniques, and low cost are the main advantages of 3D printing, as well as the flexibility of the layout realization, which is to be addressed in the fabrication of customized superstrates shape. The main filaments used in Fusion Deposition Modelling techniques are plastic polymers with low dielectric permittivity. The dielectric properties of 3D-printing filaments are measured with a Vector Network Analyzer for their design as broadband multilayers. Their use as antenna superstrates shows that also low-permittivity multilayer can provide a satisfactory special and frequency selectivity, returning a high antenna gain and broadband response.