3d custom antenna elements

Is there a way to use 3d shapes imported from .stl, and other 3d model types as custom antenna elements ?

[Jorge Cossio]

I am also interested in finding out if this is possible. I've managed to import and mesh 2 helical antennas of different sizes, looking to obtain the S21 parameters of both. I've had success with other 2D shapes, but there is no real way for simulating our antennas using 2D architecture.

Answer 1

[Vinod Dwarapudi]

Hi Andrew and George,

Yes, this is supported in Antenna Toolbox

For a custom 3D antenna geometry, import the STL file and create a customAntennaStl. MATLAB can then mesh and analyze the geometry using the Method of Moments solver.

ant = customAntennaStl(FileName="antenna3D.stl");

% Create a feed
createFeed(ant,[0 0 0.07436],1);

show(ant)
mesh(ant)

pattern(ant,1e9)
impedance(ant,1e9)

Doc: customAntennaStl - Create custom 3-D antenna geometry using STL, STEP, or IGES files - MATLAB

Alternatively: Import the STL mesh and create a customAntenna from a shape.Custom3D object

tr = stlread("antenna3D.stl");
sh = shape.Custom3D(tr);

ant = customAntenna(Shape=sh);
createFeed(ant,[0 0 0],1);

show(ant)

doc: customAntenna - Create custom antenna from geometric shapes - MATLAB

STL files contain only geometry and do not contain feed information, so feeds must be added manually.

If the design is a PCB-based antenna with dielectric layers, recommendation is to use pcbStack

pcbStack - Single feed or multi-feed PCB antenna - MATLAB

If the design contains dielectric materials and represents a general 3D antenna structure, recommendation is to use customAntenna

Analysis of Ultrawideband Trident Inset-Fed Monopole Antenna with Conical Ground - MATLAB & Simulink

Additional examples and workflows are available in the 3-D Modeling, CAD Files, and Fabrication documentation section:

3-D Modeling, CAD Files, and Fabrication - MATLAB & Simulink