A Yagi-Uda antenna made of high-permittivity ceramic material

Half-wavelength dipole and 3-element Yagi antennas made of high-permittivity dielectric ceramic rods instead of metal wires are described. For a frequency of operation around 3.7 GHz, dielectric rods of 4×4 mm² cross-section and relative permittivity of 34 can replace the metal wires in these antennas. A structure allowing to feed the dielectric dipole by means of a balanced (two-wire) transmission line is described. The 3-element dielectric Yagi antenna shows a simulated directivity of 8.0 dBi, a simulated as well as measured front-to-back ratio of 10.2 dB, a measured respectively simulated -10 dB impedance bandwidth of 11.6% and 9.9% at 3.7 GHz, and a simulated radiation efficiency of 94%.