Flexible 3D Printed Conductive Metamaterial Units for Electromagnetic Applications in Microwaves

Abstract

In this work we present a method for fabricating three dimensional, ultralight and flexible millimeter metamaterial units using a commercial household 3D printer. The method is low-cost, fast, eco-friendly and accessible. In particular, we use the Fused Deposition Modeling 3D printing technique and we fabricate flexible conductive Spilt Ring Resonators (SRRs) in a free-standing form. We characterized the samples experimentally through measurements of their spectral transmission, using standard rectangular microwave waveguides. Our findings show that the resonators produce well defined resonant electromagnetic features that depend on the structural details and the infiltrating dielectric materials, indicating that the thin, flexible and light 3D printed structures may be used as electromagnetic microwave components and electromagnetic fabrics for coating a variety of devices and infrastructure units, while adapting to different shapes and sizes.

3D-Printed Metasurface Units for Potential Energy Harvesting Applications at the 2.4 GHz Frequency Band

“…To date, the FFF method has been successfully used in constructing metamaterials and metasurfaces for applications in the microwave regime [25][26][27]. Therefore, the fabrication of metasurfaces for microwave energy harvesting seems to be feasible.…”

Exceptional Mechanical Properties and Heat Resistance of Photocurable Bismaleimide Ink for 3D Printing

“…The advent of this technology has significantly decreased the production cycle and costs of some industrial products compared to traditional manufacturing methods [ 2 , 3 , 4 ]. Generally, 3D printing is applied in aerospace technology, medical engineering, construction industry, and electronic manufacturing, among other fields [ 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Among the various types of 3D printing technologies, stereolithography (SLA) presents several advantages such as short curing time, high printing accuracy, and energy saving; moreover, the molding materials have excellent performance in terms of hardness, chemical resistance, and abrasion resistance [ 10 , 11 , 12 ].…”

Additively manufactured metastructure design for broadband radar absorption

“…It offers high efficiency, convenience, and a low-cost fabrication process that involves printing successive layers of a given material on top of each other. Lately, 3D printing systems have been utilized to manufacture metamaterial absorbers (MMAs) of different structural designs and material bases [11][12][13][14][15][16][17]. However, the main hindrance for the fabrication of broadband MMAs using 3D printing technology is the limited range of materials compatible with 3D printers [18,19].…”

“…However, the main hindrance for the fabrication of broadband MMAs using 3D printing technology is the limited range of materials compatible with 3D printers [18,19]. Most of the available 3D printing materials are fully insulating or have low conductivity values [11], which limits their usage in 3D printing of EM absorbing metamaterials. To enhance the dielectric performance of the common 3D printing polymers, organic materials such as carbon, carbon black, carbon nanotubes, and graphite are loaded to the polymers as hitherto demonstrated in non-3D printing polymeric composites [20,21].…”

“…To enhance the dielectric performance of the common 3D printing polymers, organic materials such as carbon, carbon black, carbon nanotubes, and graphite are loaded to the polymers as hitherto demonstrated in non-3D printing polymeric composites [20,21]. Nowadays, commercially available conductive filaments like conductive PLA, conductive ABS, and graphene are being explored for the development of EM absorbers and devices using 3D printing [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19]22]. However, none of the existing reports reviewed have considered graphite SLS 3D printing material.…”