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Selective Laser Melting Manufacturing of Microwave Waveguide Devices

Additive manufacturing technologies are currently envisaged to boost the development of a next generation of microwave and millimeter-wave devices intended for, among others, satellite telecommunications, navigation, imaging, radio-astronomy, and cosmology. Due to their excellent electromagnetic and mechanical properties, all-metal waveguide components are key building blocks of several radio frequency (RF) systems used in these application domains. This article reports on the prospects originating from the application of all-metal 3D printing to the manufacturing of high-performance microwave waveguide devices. The technology investigated is the selective laser melting process, where a laser beam is used to fuse metal powder particles spread over a building platform. The complete parts are built by overlapping several constant-thickness layers. An overview on process parameters, material properties, and design rules is reported for this technology. The electromagnetic properties of test samples built in Al and Ti alloys have been experimentally characterized. A robust design of Ku/K-band filters aimed at satellite telecommunications has been implemented in several prototypes manufactured in Al. The corresponding measured performance confirm the applicability of the laser selective melting process to the intended applications.