Light-Weight Antennae by Electroplating HF-Transparent Rigid Foam

This contribution presents a way to manufacture antennae, which allows to both effectively simplify the production and reduce associated costs as well as the weight. Amongst other examples for aperture antennae this is shown for a configuration given by the slotted waveguide antenna toolkit presented in [1]. In simplified terms the procedure consists of shaping the HF-transparent rigid foam to the size of the antenna's cavity, attaching the connector(s) and electroplating it with copper. The manufacturing steps are shown in detail, which is followed by a characterization including the weight as well as the antenna performance such as S 11 and the antenna pattern for horizontal polarization. These results validate the applicability of the presented method and open windows of opportunities especially in contexts in which intricate cavities and weight pose critical issues.