Self-Sustained Biconical Antenna Realized in Additive Manufacturing Technology

This paper describes the design procedures and manufacturing processes of a self-sustained vertically polarized biconical antenna for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. The proposed antenna has been designed for Additive Manufacturing (AM) fabrication to reduce the total weight, simplify the assembly operations and facilitate the installation on the platform. In particular it has been produced via Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technique. The radiating element works from 1 GHz to 4 GHz with good impedance matching, high total efficiency and omnidirectional patterns on the azimuth plane (elevation = 0 deg.). The designed layout provides mechanical stability to the antenna through optimized supports (spiral wires and rings). The design has been validated throughout simulations (using different solvers) and measurements.