A MID dipole antenna in LDS technology

Molded interconnect devices (MID) allow the realization of electronic circuits on injection molded thermoplastics. MID antennas can be manufactured as part of device casings without the need for additional printed circuit boards or attachment of antennas printed on foil. Baluns, matching networks, amplifiers and connectors can be placed on the polymer in the vicinity of the antenna. A MID dipole antenna for 1 GHz is designed, manufactured and measured. A prototype of the antenna is built with laser direct structuring (LDS) on a Xantar LDS 3720 substrate. Measured return loss and calibrated gain patterns are compared to simulation results.