Use of metallised plastics in high volume antenna applications

At frequencies below about 10 GHz, the antenna requirements for many applications can be satisfied using low cost printed circuit based antennas. However, as the frequencies of operation increase, the performance of printed antennas is often unacceptable, even for relatively small antennas. Under these circumstances, reflector solutions or a waveguide-based array technology must be considered. Conventional waveguide array manufacturing techniques, such as machining and casting, do not offer cost-competitive solutions for high volume applications. ERA Technology has been developing a novel array antenna technology suitable for complex, high frequency antennas, which uses a low cost injection moulding process. This has been applied to a flat plate television receive only (TVRO) array antenna and offers significant potential for use in applications such as MM-wave point-to-point links, Ka-band satellite ground terminals, automotive intelligent cruise control (AICC), radar and microwave video distribution systems. This paper describes design concepts which can make use of this approach, discusses the production processes used and demonstrates the potential of the technology by describing the performance of the TVRO antenna