FDM 3D-Printed DRA Array for 5G Millimeter Wave and 6G Applications

This paper aims to illustrate the feasibility of Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) printing technique as an inexpensive open-source 3D printing method for the development of antennas for 5G millimeter-wave (mmWave) and future 6G communication systems. A 2×2 dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) array based on either cylindrical or cuboid elements working at mmWave band are designed and analyzed. The cylindrical DRA array working at 24 GHz could achieve a maximum gain of 11.8 dBi at boresight direction, and ±42°/±46° -3-dB scanning angle at xz- and yz-plane, respectively. The cuboid DRA array working at 28 GHz could achieve a maximum gain of 11.5 dBi at boresight direction, and ±57°/ ±46° -3-dB scanning angle at xz- and yz- plane, respectively. To verify the performance, the DRAs were printed using PREPERM® ABS1000 filament and generally accessible FDM 3D printers. A good agreement between the measured results and the simulated ones is observed, which proves the feasibility of the low-cost open-source FDM 3D-printing method on the development of 5G mmWave and future 6G applications.