Low-Cost Antenna Gain Enhancement Using Inkjet-Printed Partially Reflective Surfaces

This contribution illustrates the design, fabrication, and experimental validation of an inkjet-printed partially reflective surface integrated with a low-profile antenna to achieve gain enhancement. The proposed partially reflective surface is fabricated via cost-effective inkjet printing process, offering advantages in terms of rapid prototyping and low material wastage. To obtain a high reflection coefficient, additional polyethylene terephthalate glycol (PETG) layers have been introduced. The feeding antenna-partially reflective surface configuration operates as a Fabry-Pérot resonator antenna, where the spacing between the partially reflective surface and the ground plane is carefully optimized to support resonance and reinforce directive radiation. Simulation and measurement results demonstrate a gain improvement of about 5 dBi over the feeding antenna without the partially reflective surface, with minimal impact on impedance bandwidth. This work validates the viability of inkjet printing and additive manufacturing techniques for developing high-performance, lightweight, and low-cost antenna systems.