A 3D Printed Microstrip Patch Antenna using Electrifi Filament for In-Space Manufacturing

Abstract

Additive manufacturing technology has emerged as a very effective solution in recent times for prototyping complex and conformal radio frequency (RF) circuits due to its inherent features of fast turn-around, custom modeling, easier fabrication, and cost-effective implementation. A commercially available conductive filament, Electrifi has been lately reported by multiple researchers as a potential candidate for replacing traditional copper traces on printed circuit boards using additive manufacturing technologies. Using the fused filament fabrication method of additive manufacturing, this paper presents a 3D-printed microstrip patch antenna based on an improved version of conductive Electrifi filament on a planar TMM4 substrate for space-born applications, such as, 3D-printed satellites, space-suits, and zero gravity experiments etc. which are also very recent interest of NASA. Furthermore, a detailed comparative analysis between a full-wave model and a 3D-printed prototype of the antenna is also presented here. The antenna dimensions have been optimized for an operating frequency of 2.56 GHz in S-band (2 – 4 GHz) for suitable in-space applications.