Biconical Antenna with Integrated Balun Fabricated in Additive Manufacturing Technology

This paper describes the design and manufacturing of a biconical antenna with integrated balun for ultra-wideband (UWB) applications. The antenna is composed by a Duncan-Minerva balun that feeds a vertically polarized biconical radiating element. The fabrication of the item has been fully realized in Additive Manufacturing (AM) technology to simplify the assembly and reduce the weight. The applied technique has been the Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS). The radiating element works from 200 MHz to 800 MHz ensuring good reflection coefficient and desired omnidirectional patterns. Simulation and measurement results show very close correspondence validating the design.