Three-Dimensionally Printed Dual-Slot-Fed Dielectric Resonator Antenna with Rectangular and Irregular Elements for 5G Applications

In this paper, a novel dual-slot-fed dielectric resonator antenna (DRA) with rectangular and irregular elements, designed for 5G wireless applications, is presented. The DRA achieves wideband capability by combining the resonant modes of the rectangular and irregular DRA elements, which is a less common feature in conventional designs. A frequency ratio adjustment technique, based on the concept of inductive de-loading, is uniquely proposed for the independent frequency adjustment of the irregular DRA. Unlike traditional methods, an equivalent circuit presentation was developed to interpret the impedance characteristics of single-element DRAs, and to provide new insights into the presence of inductive de-loading from a circuit perspective. For verification, a dual-slot-fed prototype was fabricated through digital light processing (DLP)-based 3D printing technology, with the aim of customizable design and low-cost fabrication. The measured and simulated results of reflection coefficients and radiation patterns showed good agreements, with a measured bandwidth of 51.6% (2.96–5.02 GHz), effectively covering the desired 5G n77–n79 (3.3–5.0 GHz) frequency bands.