Utilizing Advanced Manufacturing Techniques to Increase Bandwidth Capabilities of D-dot Antennas

Antennas that are uniquely designed to measure the time derivative electric displacement field are commonly referred to as D-dots. Such measurements can be integrated to yield information about an applied electric field. This is particularly useful in pulsed power and radio frequency (RF) applicatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:IEEE sensors journal 2024-01, Vol.24 (2), p.1-1
Main Authors: Harjes, Cameron D., Sherburne, Michael D., Wolfgang, Rachel L., Erickson, Nicholas G., Chacon, Jose, Lehr, Jane M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
3-Dimensional (3D) Printing
Antennas
Bandwidths
D-dot
Electric fields
Equivalent circuits
Frequency ranges
Manufacturing
Measurement methods
Production methods
Pulsed Power
Radio Frequency
Three dimensional printing
Voltage dividers
Citations: Items that this one cites
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Antennas that are uniquely designed to measure the time derivative electric displacement field are commonly referred to as D-dots. Such measurements can be integrated to yield information about an applied electric field. This is particularly useful in pulsed power and radio frequency (RF) applications where voltage dividers cannot be used. This class of antennas was first introduced in the 1960's as a reliable method of measuring electric fields from a distance. Commercial D-dots are sold in free field and grounded configurations with both having an operating bandwidth limit of around 10 GHz. The operating bandwidth is inversely proportional to the size of the D-dot's sensing element. As the sensing element size decreases, the operating bandwidth increases. Legacy manufacturing techniques limit how small the D-dot's sensing element can be made, but the advent of additive manufacturing methods offers the potential to reliably create D-dot antennas with extended frequency ranges. This manuscript discusses the design process and measured results for three metal 3D printed ground reference D-dots designed to have an operating bandwidth from 0 to 5.5 GHz, 10 GHz, and 12 GHz. The bandwidth capabilities are quantified by comparing experimental data to the analytical gain of a D-dot. The analytical gain is derived using circuit equations from the D-dot's low frequency equivalent circuit. Low frequency in this case refers to frequencies less than the stated bandwidth. Results indicate that utilizing 3D printing methods can reliably produce D-dots capable of measuring frequencies larger than 12 GHz.
ISSN:1530-437X
1558-1748
DOI:10.1109/JSEN.2023.3338076