An Automated Approach to Horn Antenna Impedance Matching and Manufacturing Using 3D Printing

Abstract

In this paper, we propose a streamlined design and automation of a horn antenna and its rectangular waveguide-based feeder using computer simulation-based optimizations and additive manufacturing. The approach enables time-effectiveness with a holistic design of the two components, while achieving advantageous results of the antenna parameters. The approach is described in comparison to other works and the results presented and discussed on the antenna models manufactured for two midband frequencies: at 2437 MHz and 5250 MHz. The optimum-search algorithm was able to find the parameter values that resulted in more than 25 dB improvement in S11-parameter values in comparison to the initial design based on the textbook theory. For the 2437-MHz antenna, the achieved bandwidth, using the optimized parameters, was 16.52% wide comparing to 5.14% bandwidth that was the result based on the analytical expressions. In case of the 5250-MHz antenna, the optimized antenna bandwidth reached 25.47%. The fabricated antenna gain was close to the design value.

Keywords

• horn antenna
• additive manufacturing
• impedance matching
• 3d printing