Additive Manufacturing Materials and Processes for Passive Electronics in Wireless Communication

There is growing interest in Additive Manufacturing (AM) as a state-of-the-art fabrication technology for electronics, complementary to silicon -based manufacturing. Notwithstanding current limitations in the choice of available materials and minimum feature sizes, the ability to manufacture complex customized structures, compact and rapid prototyping are the main benefits of 3D printed electronics. This paper summarizes the status of AM electronics material's characteristics and introduces the principles of AME process. In particular, the AME applications in various frequency bands are discussed. Overall, this paper demonstrates the significance of AM in facilitating the advancement of advanced electronic component manufacturing, particularly as to passive circuits, electronic devices, antennas, metasurfaces and electronic packaging.