A 3D printed near-isotropic antenna for wireless sensor networks

A near isotropic 3D printed antenna on a cubic structure is presented in this work for the first time. The fully inkjet printed antenna has been realized by a unique combination of 3D inkjet printing of dielectric and 2D inkjet printing of metal. The antenna comprises a 1.5λ₀ dipole that is wrapped around the cube to achieve a near isotropic radiation pattern. The cube measures 2 cm × 2 cm × 2 cm, where each side of the cube corresponds to only 0.16 λ₀ (at 2.4 GHz). The cube geometry of the antenna is attractive for wireless sensing applications where it can also act as a functional package for the electronics of the sensor node.