Additive manufactured graphene composite Sierpinski gasket tetrahedral antenna for wideband multi-frequency applications

Here we report a pre-fractal antenna design based on the Sierpinski tetrahedron that has been developed with additive manufacturing. The Sierpinski tetrahedron-based antenna was simulated with finite element method (FEM) modeling and experimentally tested to highlight its potential for wideband communications. The Sierpinski tetrahedron-based antennas were fabricated by two methods, the first involves printing the antenna out of acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), followed by spin casting a coating of an ABS solution containing graphene flakes produced through electrochemical exfoliation, the second method involves 3D printing the antenna from graphene-impregnated polylactic acid (PLA) filament directly without any coating. Both fabrication methods yield a conducive medium to enable receiving EM signals in the low GHz frequency range with measured input return losses higher than 35 dB at resonance. These antennas incorporate the advantages of 3D printing which allows for rapid prototyping and the development of devices with complex geometries. Due to these manufacturing advantages, self-similar antennas like the Sierpinski tetrahedron can be realized which provide increased gain and multi-band performance.