Fabrication and Performance Analysis of Quadrifilar Helix Antenna Using Selective Laser Melting Technology

In order to meet the requirements of low-cost and rapid manufacturing of quadrifilar helix antenna, the integrated manufacturing and performance analysis of quadrifilar helix antenna based on selective laser melting (SLM) technology are carried out in this paper. In order to analyze the influence of SLM forming accuracy on antenna performance, quadrifilar helix antennas based on SLM technology integrated forming and wire cutting post-processing are prepared respectively. The test results show that the voltage standing wave ratio (VSWR) of the integrated quadrifilar helix antenna formed by SLM technology is 1.17 and 1.14 at the frequency points of 1.561 GHz and 1.575 GHz respectively, the gain reaches 5.2 dB and 5.0 dB at 0°, the gain within ±45° is higher than 2.8 dB and 1.9 dB respectively, and the gain within±70° is higher than －1.1 dB dB and －0.8 dB respectively, which meets the requirements of navigation antenna. After the balun slot width is optimized through wire cutting post-processing, VSWR is increased by 0.02 and the average gain is increased by 0.5 dB, which shows that the comprehensive performance of the antenna can be improved through postprocessing. The research shows that the integrated forming of quadrifilar helix antenna by SLM technology not only can meet the performance requirements but also has great advantages in production cost and processing cycle. Therefore, it has great potential in navigation.