Ultra-Wideband Transmission Lines on Complex Structures via Extendable Aerosol Jet 3D-Printing

This work focuses on the unique capabilities that aerosol jet printing (AJP) provides for manufacturing components and electronics on complex structures and surfaces. We demonstrate the realization of ultra-wideband (UWB) mm-wave transmission lines (TLs) on complex structures via extendable AJP technology. This is the first UWB mm-wave component fully fabricated via additive manufacturing (AM) on complex structures with nonplanar features as high as 5 mm. TLs are printed utilizing conductive and nonconductive inks on brass conformal and ramped carriers with nonplanar features of different sizes. The TLs are measured in a wide frequency range up to 110 GHz and yield losses similar to other AM components with much smaller or no nonplanar features, while performance remains relatively unaffected by feature size changes. These results exhibit the great potential of AJP as an extendable manufacturing technology for electronics on complex structures for future UWB and mm-wave applications.