Abstract
Abstract
A conformal microstrip antenna is highly integrated with the carrier profile, giving it the advantage of reduced carrier space. However, the processing technology for fabricating an antenna with a conformal surface is complicated and expensive owing to its irregular shape. Therefore, it is particularly important to find ways to reduce the difficulty in producing conformal conductive patterns. For the production of conformal microstrip antennas, a five-axes motion printing system is proposed to print conductive patterns on nonexpanded surfaces. The conductive pattern uses a new boundary-alignment-optimization algorithm in the printing process to improve the accuracy of the boundary of the conductive pattern by optimizing the ink-dropping points in the motion command. The short-time and low-temperature sintering of the conductive pattern by using a flash light enables it to exhibit conductive properties. This method is practically implemented to fabricate a conformal array microstrip antenna. The main and side lobes of the electric and magnetic fields in the directional pattern measured in the microwave darkroom have the same trend as in the simulation diagram. Thus, the effectiveness of this method was verified through simulation analysis and experimental results.
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