CAREER: Additively Manufactured 3D Reconfigurable Antennas

天线是无处不在的无线通信、雷达和导航系统的关键组件，这些系统影响着广泛的社会需求，如航空航天系统、医疗保健和太空探索。包括蜂窝电话到无人驾驶飞机系统(UAS)在内的各种应用中使用的大多数天线都是基于使用传统制造技术开发的平面结构或导线几何结构。这种方法不允许设计者有机会充分利用可用的几何图形、空间和材料来设计性能更好的天线。该Carrer开发项目的重点是一种新兴的天线制造技术，该技术结合了附加制造(AM)和脉冲激光加工，具有从根本上改变现有技术状态的潜力。拟议的研究将使工程师能够在三维(3D)中实现更小、更高效、更轻和可重新配置的天线实施例，以满足未来日益复杂的应用。该项目中提出的研究与教育和推广计划完全结合起来。该教育计划将通过让高中生接触实践活动和视频来解释基本的天线工程概念，从而影响下一代专业人员。这些视频将由工程领域的资深工程师制作，具有强烈的基于角色模型的激励成分，以激励他们追求STEM职业生涯。还提出了一种先进的基于手机的教学工具，允许工科本科生可视化电磁学和天线工程中复杂的3D概念。该项目的总体目标是在节省尺寸、重量和成本的同时，探索具有可重新配置性能的下一代天线。研究活动包括：(A)研究基于飞秒激光加工和五轴运动学的基于激光增强直接打印AM(LE-DPAM)的共形3D多曲面天线的新的附加制造工艺，(B)研究利用传统方法无法制造但使用LE-DPAM可以想到的仿生3D优越天线几何形状，(C)开发基于新的3D到2D共形映射技术的设计方法，(D)研究嵌入材料和基于IC的可重构机制，包括使用可以沉积在共形表面上的电可调墨，以及(E)调查商用墨水和定制墨水的结构-性能关系，这些墨水在满足航空和空间环境需求的同时提供优异的电磁性能。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，认为值得支持。

Antennas are key components of ubiquitous wireless communication, radar, and navigation systems that affect widespread societal needs, such as aerospace systems, healthcare, and space exploration. Most of the antennas used in a variety of applications including cellular phones to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are based on flat planar structures or wire geometries that are developed using traditional manufacturing technique. This approach does not allow designers the opportunity to fully leverage the geometry, space, and materials available to design better performing antennas. The focus of this CARRER development project is on an emerging antenna fabrication technique that combines additive manufacturing (AM) and pulsed laser machining that has the potentials to fundamentally alter the existing state of the art. The proposed research will allow engineers to implement smaller, efficient, lighter, and reconfigurable antenna embodiments in three-dimensions (3D) for future applications with increasing complexity. The research proposed in this project is fully integrated with an education and outreach plan. The educational plan will impact the next generation of professionals by exposing high school students to hands-on activities and videos to explain basic antenna engineering concepts. The videos will be made by accomplished engineers in the engineering field to have a strong role-model-based motivational component to stimulate them to pursue STEM careers. An advanced cellular phone-based teaching tool that allows engineering undergraduate students to visualize complex 3D concepts in electromagnetics and antenna engineering is also proposed. The overall goal of this project is to pursue the discovery of the next generation of antennas with reconfigurable performance while conserving size, weight and cost. Research initiatives include: (a) the investigation of novel additive manufacturing processes for the fabrication of conformal 3D multiple curved antennas based on laser-enhanced direct print AM (LE-DPAM) with femtosecond laser machining and 5-axis kinematics, (b) the study of bio-inspired 3D superior antenna geometries that are not possible to manufacture using traditional methods but are conceivable using LE-DPAM, (c) the development of design methods based on a novel 3D to 2D conformal mapping technique, (d) the study of embedded material- and IC-based reconfigurability mechanisms including the use of electrically tunable inks that can be deposited on conformal surfaces, as well as IC-based switches for reconfiguration of antenna feeds and loads, and (e) the investigation of the structure-property relationships of commercially available and custom-formulated inks that provide excellent electromagnetic performance while addressing the needs for aviation and space environments.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.