STTR Phase I: Additive Manufacturing of Radio Frequency and Microwave Components from a Highly Conductive 3D Printing Filament

该STTR第一阶段项目将通过3D打印实现射频（RF）组件的快速原型和制造，从而降低组件成本、重量和周转时间。到2022年，全球射频组件市场预计将达到175.4亿美元，但商用射频组件的制造技术几乎没有创新。传统的射频制造技术，如机械加工和光刻，是准确和可靠的，但它们也昂贵，耗时，并产生不必要的浪费。3D打印可以快速，准确地制造定制组件，以及以低成本创建极其复杂的几何形状，以提高组件性能。3D打印还可以使用户能够设计适合可用设计空间的组件，从而消除了围绕商用部件设计技术的必要性，这是空间和重量敏感的航空航天应用的关键特性。然而，可用于3D打印的材料大多局限于非导电聚合物。通过创造一种高导电性的3D打印材料，并测试用这种长丝制成的射频组件的性能，该项目将使快速原型和生产定制射频组件成为可能。该STTR提案将创造一种高导电性（2×10^5 S m-1）聚合物长丝，可与低成本熔融沉积建模3D打印机一起使用，以创造各种高价值的射频组件。灯丝将被设计成可靠的打印，并在~150°C的温度下保持其导电性和机械完整性。为了实现这些目标，提出的工作将确定电导率、导电填料的负载、导电填料的形状、长丝的机械性能和印刷温度下长丝的粘度之间的关系。将开发新的方法来防止导电填料在高温下氧化。将开发一种新型导电填料，以低成本实现这些性能规格。在这些材料开发工作的同时，新的射频元件将被设计、模拟和打印，以便建立一个全面的数据库，其中包含详细的设计和打印参数，以生产低故障率的射频元件。到本项目结束时，用户将能够在低成本的3D打印机上设计、预测和可靠地打印带有导电丝的射频组件。

This STTR Phase I project will enable the rapid prototyping and manufacturing of radio frequency (RF) components with 3D printing, and thereby reduce component cost, weight, and turnaround time. The global RF components market is expected to reach $17.54 billion by 2022, but fabrication techniques for commercial RF components have seen little innovation. Conventional RF manufacturing techniques, such machining and photolithography, are accurate and reliable, but they are also expensive, time-consuming and produce unnecessary waste. 3D printing enables fast and accurate manufacturing of custom components, as well as the creation of extremely complex geometries at low-cost for improved component performance. 3D printing can also enable users to design components to fit the design space available, removing the necessity of designing technology around commercially available parts, a critical feature in space and weight-sensitive aerospace applications. However, the materials available to 3D printing are mostly limited to non-conducting polymers. By creating a highly conductive 3D printing material, and testing the properties of RF components made with this filament, this project will make it possible to rapidly prototype and produce custom RF components, thereby accelerating research and improving the competitiveness of RF component manufacturing in the U.S.This STTR proposal will create a highly conductive (2×10^5 S m-1) polymer filament that can be used with low-cost fused deposition modeling 3D printers to create a variety of high-value RF components. The filament will be engineered to print reliably, and retain its conductivity and mechanical integrity to temperatures of ~150 °C. To achieve these goals, the proposed work will determine the relationship between conductivity, the loading of conductive filler, the shape of the conductive filler, the filament mechanical properties, and the viscosity of the filament at printing temperatures. New methods will be developed to prevent oxidation of the conductive filler at elevated temperatures. A novel conductive filler will be developed to achieve these performance specifications at low cost. Concurrent with these material development efforts, novel RF components will be designed, simulated, and printed in order to build a comprehensive database with detailed designs and printing parameters for producing the RF components with a low failure rate. By the end of this project, users will be able to design, predict, and reliably print RF components with conductive filament on low-cost 3D printers.