3D electrically small dome antenna

Modifications to a 3D electrically small antenna (ESA) are presented for dual-band and wide-band performance respectively. The design is based on a recently published dome antenna with conformal meanderlines and fed by a microstrip network. By modifying both the meanderlines and microstrips, the antenna is shown to have a voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) below 3 for the primary 2.45 GHz band and a 3.5 GHz band. By altering this new feed structure, the antenna can be shown to increase the bandwidth at the 2.45 GHz band by nearly 100 MHz for VSWR equals 3. Rapid prototyping of two antenna designs was carried out using 3D additive printed substrates metalized by Damascening conductive silver ink; the manufactured antennas are scaled up to four times the size of simulations, and offer quick validations of the simulation claims.