Three-dimensional printed wideband, dual-cavity Ku-band antenna

A novel three-dimensional (3D) printed, wideband, and low cost bull's eye antenna is proposed and designed for Ku-band applications. The proposed antenna covers entire Ku-band satellite communication bands starting from 10.5 GHz to 14.5 GHz. The antenna structure consists of dual-cavity radiating aperture surrounded by a circular groove. With the addition of cavity and corrugation, the antenna gain is increased more than 6 dB. The antenna is fabricated using 3D printing technology and conductive painting. Measurement results indicate that the antenna has 72% fractional bandwidth from 8 GHz to 17 GHz. Measured antenna peak gain is 13.5 dBi at 13 GHz and no less than 11.5 dBi throughout the entire Ku band.