Application of 3-D printing to fabrication of highly-efficient waveguide-based antenna array with integrated monopulse comparator

It is challenging to fabricate a complicated waveguide structure using traditional machining methods. One must be mindful of the feasibility of manufacturing, assembly process and quality of assembly. Emerging 3-D printing technologies are promising to these problems. A relatively complicated waveguide-based antenna array with integrated monopulse comparator printed by a 3-D metal-direct-printing technique is presented in this paper. The monopulse array mainly consists of two portions: an antenna array with a power-tapering corporate-feed network, and a monopulse comparator. Satisfactory performance is expected with the help of this 3-D metal-direct-printing approach.