Authors:
Thomas Studnitzky (1), Thomas Weißgärber (1,2), Kay Reuter (1), Chongliang Zhong (1), Michael Höft (3), Patrick Boe (3)
1- Fraunhofer IFAM Dresden, Germany
2- TU Dresden, Germany
3- Kiel University, Germany
Abstract:
Rectangular waveguides are widely used in communications satellites due to its low insertion loss and high power-handling. Additionally, near field communication in the upcoming 5G and 6G mobile communication standards are in this frequency range. As high quantities and tight tolerances are required for future applications, only a few manufacturing technologies come into consideration. In this work, the mass productive and cost-effective 3D Screen Printing was successfully used for this purpose. To achieve the goals, both a master alloy route tungsten-copper and a printing of tungsten with subsequent copper infiltration were investigated. Structures sizes of 300 µm with deviation of about 1-2 µm were successfully printed and sintered. The manufactured waveguides were characterised metallographically, tested for their function and compared with the design simulation. The specifications were well achieved, proving that 3D screen printing is an important candidate for digital communication technology.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59499/EP246283017
