3D printed patch Antenna for millimeter wave 5G wearable applications

A 3D printed patch antenna, with a necklace medallion support for operation in the 5G millimeter wave band is proposed. Two additive manufacturing techniques are combined in the open-source machine to fabricate the antenna. Fused deposition modelling is used for the printing of the substrate while a pneumatic dispenser with conductive ink creates the metal patterns. In terms materials, inexpensive Polylactic acid (PLA) plastic has been employed for the fabrication of the dielectric layers while silver paste for the top metallic patch. The antenna is first tested without the medallion support. Then performance of the antenna with the medallion is assessed in free space and in the presence of the human body. The antenna is able to operate at one of the proposed frequencies for future 5G communication systems. Time domain simulations compare very well with the measured results. The aim is to demonstrate that low-cost additive manufacturing techniques can be an alternative fabrication method for wearable antennas operating within the of 28GHz millimeter wave band.