Phased Array Antenna Element with Embedded Cavity and MMIC using Direct Digital Manufacturing

This paper introduces a multilayer, wideband, high-efficiency, patch antenna with embedded cavity and monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) phase shifter using direct digital manufacturing (DDM). DDM platform combines fused deposition modeling (FDM) of thermoplastics and micro-dispensing of silver nanoparticle inks to realize cost-effective customized multilayer RF structures. DDM offers design flexibilities in terms of material properties, thicknesses, and shapes that can be harnessed to realize high-performance antennas and arrays. Specifically, an X-band phased array antenna element with embedded cavity and MMIC phase shifter is demonstrated with 81% radiation efficiency (excluding IC loss) and 23% impedance matching bandwidth.