Glass Antennas for High-Frequency Applications
The powerful high-frequency alternative
The world is increasingly run using high-frequency applications. Whether it’s high speed data transfer or a pan-global conference call, the demand for telecoms equipment operating at maximum efficiency with consistent performance rises every day. An emerging material for the communications equipment is specialty glass, which offers low dielectric loss, high temperature resistance, and a smooth surface for minimal scattering. In a rapidly developing industry, glass answers every challenge.The ideal antenna material
Discover how specialty SCHOTT glass leads to low dielectric loss and improved communications performance.The shape of things to come
For efficient wavelength detection, the latest high-frequency antennas are made using components with accurate and complex shapes. For many materials, this can present a problem, but glass has the ability to be precisely processed in a vast range of forms to suit highly specific shapes. Taken with its superior physical properties, this gives the material a huge advantage in the communications industry.
Game-changing properties
SCHOTT has a portfolio of glasses that are suitable for high-frequency applications, with the ideal combination of properties for this demanding area. The high purity and homogeneity of glass results in a low dielectric loss, while the portfolio offers a range of dielectrical properties, with different glass types showing different values of dielectric constant. Low temperature coefficients together with exceptional heat resistance (0 - 950 Kelvin) also make them suitable for a range of environments – even space.Unlike polymers, which have a high surface roughness, glass is supremely smooth with root mean square values (RMS) of 1 nm and below. This reduces scattering losses on the interface between the glass and the conducting metal. Laser-based structuring methods also allow the manufacturing of complicated structures, enabling glass to fulfill the increasingly complex needs of high-frequency equipment.
The best glass for the job
We compared the relative permittivity and dielectric loss factor of SCHOTT 8252 glass to DURAN® glass tubing and found the following results. While DURAN® glass tubing shows a lower dielectric constant, SCHOTT 8252 shows a lower dielectric loss. Therefore, which glass you use depends on the requirements of your application.
High Precision Dielectric Characterisation (ɛ, tan(δ)) at 1.1, 1.9, 5, 10 and 15 GHz Microwave Frequency
| f0 [GHz] | Relative permittivity ɛ (±0.1) |
Loss factor tan(δ) (±0.0001) |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| DURAN® | SCHOTT 8252 | DURAN® | SCHOTT 8252 | |
| 1.1 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 0.0042 | 0.0029 |
| 1.9 | 4.5 | 6.1 | 0.0045 | 0.0033 |
| 5 | 4.4 | 6.0 | 0.0054 | 0.0043 |
| 10 | 4.4 | 6.1 | 0.0061 | 0.0051 |
| 15 | 4.4 | 6.1 | 0.0068 | 0.0058 |
Testing method
- Split Post Dielectric Resonator (SPDR) at 25° C
Wall thickness samples
- 1.1 GHz, 1.9 GHz: ca. 1 mm
- 5 GHz, 10 GHz, 15 GHz: ca. 0.5 mm
DURAN® is a registered trademark of DWK Life Sciences GmbH.
The ideal properties for high-frequency antennas
Dr. Andre Petershans
Senior Product Manager Technical Tubing