Ku band Metal-Strip-Loaded Dielectric Rod Antenna with Narrowband Gain Enhancement

A metal grated pattern was implemented on a dielectric rod antenna (DRA) with rectangular cross-section to increase the antenna gain in a narrowband. The DRA is formed by a high permittivity core that is cut into shape using laser machining. The metal strip loading is added using micro-dispending of silver paste. The proposed design was characterized from 12.4 to 18 GHz, a peak gain increment of 2 dB was measured at 13 GHz and a half power beamwidth (HPBW) reduction of 12 degrees was obtained with metal strip length of 0.27 λ_g. An improvement that yields ~ 50% reduction in body gradient size when compared to a non-loaded antenna. Simulated data shows the inverse relationship between the end fire peak gain frequency and the strip length.