Embedded 6-GHz 3-D Printed Half-Wave Dipole Antenna

In this letter, a three-dimensional packaged half-wave dipole antenna is presented. The design includes a grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) balun that is printed on an inclined surface and used to connect the 50-Ω feedline on the lower layer to the dipole on the top layer. For matching purposes, a GCPW quarter-wave transformer is incorporated between the 50-Ω feedline and the balun. The 6-GHz half-wave dipole is approximately λ/4 above the ground plane. Fabrication is done using the direct digital manufacturing technique with an acrylonitrile butadiene styrene substrate (relative permittivity of 2.7 and a loss tangent of 0.008) and Dupont CB028 silver paste. The simulated and measured gains are 4.88 and 4.7 dBi, respectively. Antenna substrate surface roughness is analyzed to explain discrepancies between simulation and measurement results.