Programa del congreso

The development of smart communications technologies brings new capabilities to the packaging industry, notably enhancing traceability within logistical operations. Radio Frequency IDentification (RFID) technologies hold significant promise in this regard but also pose challenges due to their expense and issues concerning recycling. Chipless RFID technology emerges as an alternative by eliminating the need for encoded chips and improving sustainability. This work introduces a chipless RFID system featuring an affordable reader designed for integration into packaging applications utilizing paper substrates. In this sense, 2-D geometrical patterns printed with conductive ink on paper-based substrates are analyzed, comparing them with printed circuit boards employing FR-4 substrate. The reader is developed utilizing conventional software-defined radio (SDR) platforms within the 0–6 GHz and 0–12 GHz frequency ranges, avoiding the use of a vector network analyzer (VNA) equipment.

In this contribution, the design of a novel logarithmic-spiral-shaped (LSS) anisotropic dielectric polarizer is presented for millimeter-wave applications within the Ka-band (28-30 GHz). The proposed antenna is composed of a conical horn fed by a waveguide dual-mode converter (DMC), where the TE01 and TM01 modes are independently excited to generate linearly azimuthal polarized and linearly radial polarized conical beam radiation patterns, respectively. The horn antenna is loaded with the novel LSS dielectric polarizer, which converts the linearly radial polarized wave generated by the excitation of the TE01 mode into a right-handed circularly polarized (RHCP) wave and the linearly azimuthal polarized wave generated by the excitation of the TM01 mode into a left-handed circularly polarized (LHCP) wave. In order to experimentally validate the proposed design, both the DMC along with the conical horn antenna and the novel LSS dielectric polarizer are manufactured by means of distinct 3D printing techniques. An excellent agreement between simulations and measurements is achieved.

This paper explores the potential of combining additive manufacturing (AM) with printed circuit board (PCB) technology for the fabrication of radio frequency (RF) components and circuits. This approach seeks to leverage the design freedom offered by AM while capitalizing on the established processes and design knowledge associated with PCB manufacturing. A helical microstrip line segment is chosen as the test vehicle for this study. The paper proposes a procedure for embedding this 3D structure into a printed circuit board (PCB) substrate. Electrical connectivity and mechanical stability are both considered during the definition of the embedding steps. To demonstrate the functionality of the proposed method for the design of more complex structures, two embedded helical microstrip line segments are combined to form a compact 2-way Wilkinson power divider/combiner suitable for operation at the low RF frequency band.

La fabricación aditiva (AM) se puede aplicar a nuevos escenarios donde las técnicas sustractivas tradicionales limitan la geometría y la libertad de ensamblaje. Uno de estos escenarios es el desarrollo de antenas, donde la AM ofrece la capacidad de implementar geometrías de alta complejidad, reduciendo el peso y coste de los dispositivos. Este trabajo presenta el proceso de fabricación aditiva de dos antenas MIMO de cuatro puertos con cavidad trasera utilizando tecnología de impresión 3D SLA. Los dispositivos impresos se metalizaron mediante un proceso autocatalítico de baños químicos. Finalmente, se midieron sus respuestas frecuenciales, ganancia, eficiencia, diagramas de radiación y peso, y se compararon con las fabricadas mediante métodos tradicionales de fresado sobre metal. La respuesta electromagnética de las antenas de AM es excelente y comparable con las fabricadas con técnicas sustractivas.

This communication aims to demonstrate the fea-

sibility of manufacturing complex structures through additive

manufacturing with conductive material. Enabling more intri-

cate designs and greater detail to meet the necessary specifi-

cations in today’s context. A comparison is conducted on the

performance of two conical horns, Ka-band and M-band, whose

manufacturing requirements are significantly different.

This paper presents a 3D-printed prototype of a novel top-metalized Dielectric Resonator Antenna (DRA). The inclusion of top metallization induces a modification in the boundary conditions, resulting in a frequency reduction in the fundamental mode of the DRA. Still, it does not degrade its radiation performance. The dielectric part is manufactured using fused deposition modeling (FDM) printing techniques and a commercially available Zirconia-loaded filament. The prototype presents a –10-dB bandwidth from 2.54 to 2.68 GHz with a minimum of –21 dB at 2.60 GHz. The radiation maxima occur in the top and bottom directions, with a simulated gain of 2.7 dBi. Thus, a low-cost and fast method to implement and manufacture a miniaturized DRA is presented.

This communication proposes an all-metal radial-line slot array antenna with a tilted beam, intended to mm-wave communications. An azimuthal variation of the propagation constant within the feeding waveguide is created by a non-uniform bed of nails, tailoring each pin height accordingly. When feeding a uniformly-spaced array with such inhomogeneous waveguide, the main beam tilts within a defined plane. Moreover, if such a waveguide illuminates a non-uniformly spaced slot array, beam-steering capability can be achieved by simply rotating the bottom plate with the bed of nails. This concept is intended to be experimentally validated through the fabrication of a prototype using additive manufacturing.