3D-Printed Low-Cost and Lightweight TEM Cell

Abstract

This paper presents a 3D-printed, low-cost and lightweight transverse electromagnetic (TEM) cell that functions as good as traditional metal TEM cells. An open TEM cell is first designed and simulated. Later, a prototype is fabricated by printing the different parts using an inexpensive 3D printer. The cell's operating bandwidth spans the range from DC to 1.6 GHz. The results show acceptable agreement between the simulated and measured S-parameters. The paper also reports the mapping of the E-field inside the designed TEM cell.