TY - JOUR
T1 - Design of integrated wideband WR34‐band diplexer‐antenna array module for exploration of monolithic metal 3‐D printing for space applications
AU - Vaitukaitis, Povilas
AU - Rao, Jiayu
AU - Nai, Kenneth
AU - Hong, Jiasheng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Authors. IET Microwaves, Antennas & Propagation published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of The Institution of Engineering and Technology.
PY - 2024/4
Y1 - 2024/4
N2 - The design of a wideband diplexer integrated with a 16-slot Continuous Transverse Stub (CTS) antenna array is presented. The diplexer-antenna array module covers the whole WR34 band. The Tx and Rx bands cover 21.7–26 and 27.5–33 GHz ranges, respectively. The diplexer is designed to have a 100 dB attenuation in the stopband and 40 dB isolation between the channels. The antenna array has a high gain, between 26.9 and 31 dBi, at the lowest and highest frequencies. For the preliminary exploration of monolithic metal 3-D printing of complex geometry integrated RF front ends, two prototypes were manufactured in AlSi10 Mg. One-piece fabrication eliminates complicated assembly, enhances reliability, and reduces weight, which is more desirable for space applications. Due to several factors, namely, an unpolished inner surface and imperfect printing quality, the diplexer had a poor measured performance. The measured results of the antenna array had a relatively better agreement with simulations. Although, the realised gain was affected by the much lower effective conductivity of the unpolished 3-D printed material. Hence, the measured realised gain was between 27.8 and 30.9 dBi in the 29–33 GHz range.
AB - The design of a wideband diplexer integrated with a 16-slot Continuous Transverse Stub (CTS) antenna array is presented. The diplexer-antenna array module covers the whole WR34 band. The Tx and Rx bands cover 21.7–26 and 27.5–33 GHz ranges, respectively. The diplexer is designed to have a 100 dB attenuation in the stopband and 40 dB isolation between the channels. The antenna array has a high gain, between 26.9 and 31 dBi, at the lowest and highest frequencies. For the preliminary exploration of monolithic metal 3-D printing of complex geometry integrated RF front ends, two prototypes were manufactured in AlSi10 Mg. One-piece fabrication eliminates complicated assembly, enhances reliability, and reduces weight, which is more desirable for space applications. Due to several factors, namely, an unpolished inner surface and imperfect printing quality, the diplexer had a poor measured performance. The measured results of the antenna array had a relatively better agreement with simulations. Although, the realised gain was affected by the much lower effective conductivity of the unpolished 3-D printed material. Hence, the measured realised gain was between 27.8 and 30.9 dBi in the 29–33 GHz range.
KW - antenna arrays
KW - antenna feeds
KW - waveguide antenna arrays
KW - waveguide components
KW - waveguide filters
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85187131663&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1049/mia2.12468
DO - 10.1049/mia2.12468
M3 - Article
SN - 1751-8725
VL - 18
SP - 280
EP - 290
JO - IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation
JF - IET Microwaves, Antennas and Propagation
IS - 4
ER -