Gain Enhancement of a 5G mmWave 2×2 Antenna Array Using a 3D Printed Hemispherical Lens

The manuscript presents a 5G mm-Wave 2×2 patch antennas array with high gain that is further enhanced using a 3D printed hemispherical homogenous lens. The array operates at 27 GHz, and it is fed by a microstrip lines network, using proximity coupling. The gain on the compact 2×2 patch antennas array is 13.8 dBi and the addition of a hemispherical 3D printed lens enhances the gain by more than 9 dB. For the lens implementation and integration with the antenna array, additive manufacturing in used. The support structure and the lens itself can be 3D printed using the low permittivity (2.2) Zetamix filament. Using mm wave frequencies allows the use of relatively small size lens. For the presented case the radius of the hemispherical lens is 33 mm, and the lens' flat surface is suspended 26 mm over the patch antennas' layer. The combination of the lens with the 2×2 patch antennas array results in total realized gain of 23.2 dBi.