Investigation of 3D Additive Manufacturing toward Arbitrary Electromagnetic Structures

这项提议旨在为包括无线通信、遥感、高速计算等在内的广泛的微波频率应用开发新型3D打印(也称为加法制造)技术。尽管有人认为3D打印可能是制造业的未来，但这些方法在创造功能电子产品方面的潜力和适用性仍未得到很大程度的开发，特别是那些在RF/微波频率下运行的方法，这些方法是许多应用的关键部件。在先进的微波组件和系统能够以3D方式强劲打印之前，需要解决一些限制。其中，缺乏具有所需微波性能的可打印材料以及在集成高质量导电元件方面的挑战是一些主要问题。这项拟议的研究将探索几个新的想法，以解决微波应用中添加剂制造的这些突出问题。拟议的工作将及时为添加剂制造领域做出贡献，并使全功能微波部件和系统能够进行3D打印。这项研究还将对科学、工程和人类社会的进步产生重大而广泛的影响。研究成果将对下一代制造技术的新方面做出贡献，并推动3D打印微波电子技术的发展。预期的结果可能会为消费、生物医学、航空航天和国防工业提供完全可定制的、高价值的多功能产品。还将实施一项并行和综合的研究教育计划，包括研究生和本科生研究人员的积极参与。工程课程不仅将在两所参与的大学中得到加强，而且将通过关于添加剂制造技术的新课程和新教科书(将在网上和课堂上提供)、公开研究研讨会和本科生高级Capstone项目来增强更大的社区。拟议的教育方案将通过定期举办课堂/工业研讨会和参加技术会议，在社会上提供更广泛的教育范围。此外，在两所大学和当地的K-12学校，将特别强调向任职人数不足的群体提供服务，具体针对妇女和少数群体。预计拟议的教育部分将为先进制造业的劳动力提供及时的培训，这对全国具有重要意义。拟议研究的目标是促进加法制造技术的发展，使微波部件和系统能够进行3D打印。目前3D打印技术中使用的大多数材料都是在设计或选择时只考虑机械性能，因此限制了它们在微波应用中的适用性。虽然导电油墨印刷已被广泛应用，但所需的高温退火工艺通常与要制造的物体的非导电部分不兼容。在这个项目中，将基于一种新的聚合物基质复合技术来研究和开发具有强大电磁性能的3D可打印材料，以获得更大范围的介电常数和磁响应等改善的电磁性能。将开发和改进3D打印技术，通过超声波或热嵌入和激光焊接金属丝和热塑性塑料等材料中的细间距网格来添加制造高质量(即良好的射频导电性)导体。在这些新技术的基础上，实用的微波组件(即垂直互连的传输线、线和贴片天线等)将进行设计、打印和测试。此外，还将研究性能优越的新型3D梯度折射率(GRIN)超材料器件(即平面型伦堡透镜成像器)。

This proposal seeks to develop novel 3D printing (also called additive manufacturing) technology for a broad range of microwave frequency applications including wireless communication, remote sensing, high speed computing, etc. Although it has been argued that 3D printing could be the future of manufacturing, the potential and applicability of these methods for creating functional electronics, especially those operate at RF / microwave frequency which are critical components for many applications remain largely unexplored. A number of limitations need to be resolved before advanced microwave components and systems can be printed in a 3D fashion robustly. Among them, the lack of printable materials with desired microwave properties and the challenges in integrating high quality conducting constituents are some of the main issues. This proposed research will explore several novel ideas to address these outstanding issues of additive manufacturing for microwave applications. The proposed work will contribute timely to the additive manufacturing field and enable 3D printing of fully functional microwave components and systems. This research will also have significant broader impacts to the advancement of science, engineering and human society. The research results will contribute to novel aspects of next generation of manufacturing technology and advance the state-of-the-art of 3D printed microwave electronics. The expected outcome may enable fully customizable, high value, multi-functional products for the consumer, biomedical, aerospace and defense industries. A concurrent and integrated research education plan including active participation of both graduate and undergraduate student researchers will also be carried out. Engineering curriculum will be enhanced not only at the two participating universities but also for the bigger community through a new course and new textbook on Additive Manufacturing Technology (to be offered online as well as in classrooms), open research seminars, and undergraduate senior Capstone projects. The proposed education program will provide a broader education scope in the society by holding regular classroom / industrial seminars and attending technical conferences. Moreover, outreach to underrepresented groups will be emphasized specifically targeting women and minorities at both universities and at local K-12 schools. It is expected that the proposed education component will provide timely training of work force in advanced manufacturing which is of great national importance.The objective of the proposed research is to advance additive manufacturing technology to enable 3D printing of microwave components and systems. Most of the materials used in 3D printing technology currently are designed or selected with only mechanical property in mind, thus limiting their applicability to microwave applications. While conductive ink printing has been widely applied, the high temperature annealing process required is often not compatible to the non-conducting part of the objects to be manufactured. In this program, 3D printable materials with robust electromagnetic properties will be investigated and developed based on a novel polymer matrix compound technique to obtain improved EM properties such as larger range of dielectric constant and magnetic response. 3D printing technique for additive manufacturing of high quality (i.e., good RF conductivity) conductors by ultrasonic or thermal embedding and laser welding metallic wires and fine-pitch meshes within materials such as thermoplastics will be developed and refined. Based upon these new techniques, practical microwave components (i.e., transmission line with vertical interconnects, wire and patch antennas, etc.) will be designed, printed and tested. In addition, novel 3D gradient index (GRIN) metamaterial-based device (i.e., a flattened Luneburg lens imager) with superior performance will be investigated.