Design and Experimental Verification of an Origami Based Compact Helix Antenna with High Gain Characteristics

This research presents origami folding technique based novel compact helix antenna design and experimental verification. The study begins by detailing the origami technique to design and construct helical structure using a thin paper. A 1.5 mm wide copper layer is then longitudinally integrated onto the prepared paper layer which is aimed to fold to form a helical configuration. This folded helical strcure then combined a fully copper ground layer to create an helix antenna configuration that aims to operate at sub-6 GHz 5G frequencies between 4 GHz and 8 GHz. The helical structure has flexible characteristics which allows for volume reduction and frequency reconfiguration through adjustment in the flexion angle. The flexion angle parametrically examined to obtain optimum operating frequency and the optimum operating frequency is obtained at 6 GHz with 2 GHz bandwidth and 8.32 dBi gain. Proposed antenna structure was manufactured and numerical results were supported experimentally. This antenna is well suited for applications in next generation wireless communication systems, including 5G networks, Internet of Things (IoT) devices, and portable communication technologies such as satellite communication.