Electromagnetic Characterization of Screen-Printed Carbon-Based Dipole Antennas

This paper presents the electromagnetic characterization of half-wave dipole antennas fabricated by screen printing a carbon-based conductive paste on paperboard substrates. The paste is based on high-reactivity carbon mixtures dispersed in a cellulose binder and is processed with a low-temperature drying step followed by a short compression-assisted densification. Two dipole geometries with total lengths of 10 cm and 14 cm were designed and experimentally characterized through return-loss measurements and anechoic-chamber radiation-pattern mapping, and were directly benchmarked against copper counterparts of identical geometry fabricated on the same substrate. Full-wave simulations, calibrated on the copper references to constrain substrate and feed effects, were used to extract an effective conductivity for the printed traces and to interpret the observed resonance shifts and bandwidth changes. Despite an effective conductivity that is orders of magnitude lower than copper, the printed dipoles preserve the expected dipole-like radiation shape while exhibiting systematic resonance downshifts and geometrydependent bandwidth variations. The results support the use of HRCM-based pastes for screen-printed, low-cost and disposable paperboard dipoles.