Additive Manufacturing of MTM-FSS

Abstract

Additive Manufacturing (AM) techniques have emerged as a rapid prototyping technique for microwave components/circuits and antennas; this chapter reviews different AM technologies and its applications for the development of frequency selective surfaces (FSSs). The 3D/metamaterial (MTM) FSS models which perform better than their planar counterparts were tedious to develop with primitive PCB manufacturing techniques. Adaption of AM for microwave component manufacturing has rendered the prototyping of such 3D FSS models an effortless possibility. AM technologies such as: Stereolithography (SLA), Selective Laser Sintering (SLS), and Fused Deposition Modelling (FDM) which have been used for microwave component manufacturing are discussed. Further, the techniques used to characterize the electrical properties of AM materials are also discussed. Incorporating conductive elements in an additively manufactured microwave component is challenging. Methods like inkjet printing, aerosol jet printing, silver nanoparticle paint, and conductive tapes were used for this purpose. This resulted in two-step manufacturing where the dielectric part was additively manufactured and the conductive part was further added using alternative methods. Advancements in FDM process made it possible to print the conductive elements seamlessly to the microwave component, eliminating the need for a two-step manufacturing process. Although the adaptation of AM provides benefits such as low cost and easy manufacturing, the major obstacle is the lack of highly resistive or conductive AM materials. With the growing interest on AM in the field of RF and microwave engineering, the material research in the field of AM shows promising signs of discovering electrically efficient AM materials which could prove beneficial for manufacture of future microwave components.KeywordsAdditive manufacturingFrequency selective surfacesMetamaterialsPCB manufacturing