3D printed digital materials for antenna applications

The need for flexible or adaptable antennas is becoming increasingly apparent. Flexible antennas offer several advantages over rigid counterparts. They are lightweight, conformable, and adaptable to diverse surfaces, enabling seamless integration into curved surfaces/devices. However, several limitations hinder the widespread adoption of such antennas, one key reason is the availability of material and their manufacturing. In this study, we explore different polymeric materials using the inkjet 3D printing method, aiming to address this limitation. We investigate two distinct material families – rigid (Vero) and flexible (tango) – that are directly 3D inkjet printable and assess their suitability for antenna applications. These digitally printable materials offer the flexibility to create intermediate formulations by combining different types within the two families. We 3D printed four material variants (Vero, RGD8730, FLX9095 and Tango) by digitally combining materials from both families. The printed materials were characterised by mechanical properties such as elasticity and damping, as well as electromagnetic properties including relative permittivity, loss tangent, and transparency, all essential for antenna applications. Furthermore, we demonstrate the practical application of these materials by fabricating a patch antenna using the most flexible material as a demonstrator.