Liquid-metal-disk-loadedmonopole antenna based on3Dprinted technique

摘要

A 3D printed disk-loaded monopole antenna by injecting liquid metal alloy is designed. The monopole antenna is operating at 2.4 GHz for wireless sensor network applications. The proposed antenna mainly comprises three parts: a hollow dielectric shell, liquid metal alloy, and a feeder. The hollow dielectric shell is fabricated by 3D printing technique. Liquid metal alloy EGaIn is filled in the hollow dielectric shell to form the antenna radiator. An SMA connector with square flange is inserted into the hollow dielectric shell to feed the antenna. A prototype antenna is fabricated and experimentally measured for verification. Measured results show that the frequency of the designed antenna covers from 2.36 to 2.6 GHz, which is suitable for commercial 2.4 GHz wireless communication applications.