A Broadband Lens Loaded Vivaldi Antenna for sub-6 GHz/mmWave 5G Applications and Wideband Nondestructive Material Characterization

Abstract

This study presents a broadband and compact antipodal Vivaldi antenna design and production having an improved gain characteristic with the addition of a dielectric lens made of PLA. The proposed antenna has measured VSWR of less than 2.1 through the broadband frequency of 3.3-43.5 GHz and has more than 6.5 dBi measured gain above 8.5 GHz (up to 43.5 GHz). The antenna, which can fit in a cube with just 4.8 cm edge, has low-cost and easy manufacturing. It can meet the need of multiple antennas due to its broad frequency range (from S-band to Ka-band), which covers different applications such as wideband nondestructive material characterization and testing. Since the proposed antenna covers sub-6 GHz (3.3 GHz, 5.8 GHz) and mmWave (26, 38, 41 GHz) 5G frequencies, it can be also used in base stations with MIMO or array configuration.