Wideband axial-mode helical antenna with 3D printed proliferated radome

In this paper, a special axial-mode quasi-tapered helical antenna with 1.9:1 bandwidth is presented. The diameter profile of this design consists of a conical bottom section for achieving wider bandwidth at lower frequency end and uniform top section for achieving higher gain at the higher frequency end. To support and protect the antenna element, a proliferated radome made of polylactic acid (PLA) material was manufactured using 3D printing. This paper discusses about the design concept, tradeoff, as well as simulated and measured performance comparison of a fabricated prototype.