Novel additive manufactured synthetic dielectric substrates

Abstract

Dielectric substrates are widely used in antenna applications. Since the specifications of a dielectric substrate such as thickness and relative permittivity are determined by manufacturers, antenna engineers' designs are restricted. Using additive manufacturing (AM) technology in dielectric materials fabrication allows customizing the dimensions of the materials and this is useful in conformal antenna applications. Furthermore, AM technology constructs successive layers of materials to create a three-dimensional (3D) structures. It can fabricate dielectric substrates with customized internal structures in one process. This enables AM to produce synthetic dielectric materials without mechanical machining. The dielectric index of materials such as permittivity and loss factor can be tailored to the value as demanded with different internal structures of the material. Therefore the additive manufactured dielectric materials that are cost efficient and can be rapid manufactured will become increasingly attractive in antenna fabrication. The advances in digital AM equipment and new materials enable 3D printing to produce a wide range of products and have been applied in electronics manufacturing and antenna applications (E. Canelon et al. EuCAP, 2014).