Fabrication of Photonic Bandgap Structures by Fused Deposition of Multimaterials

Abstract

The fabrication of 1-D and 3-D photonic bandgap (PBG) structures was achieved using the Fused Deposition of Multimaterials (FDMM) technique with Transtech D-50 and alumina as high permittivity materials. After the structures were fabricated using the FDMM technique, they were subjected to a binder burnout cycle to remove the polymer matrix and then to a presintering and sintering stage for densification. Complex parts were made. The electromagnetic measurements made on the 3D alumina log-pile type structures indicated a precise match with the bandgap values predicted using two modeling techniques (16-24 GHz). A similar procedure was followed with the 1-D PBG structures. FDMM has proven to be an efficient and flexible tool for rapid prototyping of PBG structures.