Additively Manufactured “Smart” RF/mm-Wave Packaging Structures: A Quantum Leap for On-Demand Customizable Integrated 5G and Internet of Things Modules

Additively manufactured flexible on-package phased array antennas for 5G/mmWave wearable and conformal digital twin and massive MIMO applications

“…It supports the use of various types of inks, including conductive, dielectric, and biological inks, as well as a wide range of substrates, including flexible, stretchable materials and 3D printed structures. Furthermore, inkjet printing is also a highly-scalable process, allowing for the rapid and cost-effective production of large-scale and high-volume devices 2 .…”

“…As mentioned in previous sections, one of the key requirements of mmWave packaging is the realization of fully printed interconnects that feature ultra-low loss and “rugged” mechanical integrity, even for challenging bending radii. Compared to traditional interconnects such as wire and ribbon bonds that suffer from longer loop lengths and higher parasitics at mmWave frequencies, inkjet-printed ramp interconnects offer more robust, planar, and conformal structures with improved RF performance even in challenging configurations 2 . Previous studies have demonstrated the fabrication of ramp interconnects through inkjet printing, aerosol jet printing, and 3D printing, and this paper is the first testing of the reliability of this type of interconnect up to 10,000 cycles.…”

“…These designs are essential for digital twins, structural health monitoring for megastructures, robotic applications with stringent (10,000+) bending requirements such as those for Industry 4.0 applications and conformal intelligent metasurfaces. Flexible hybrid electronics utilizing flexible materials and rigid ICs are widely adopted in wearable designs due to their flexibility, but most of the FHE-based electronic systems are operating in low-frequency (e.g., MHz) because it is challenging to satisfy all the requirements for mmWave operation, including reliable performance within broad operational bandwidth, low parasitic losses from interconnects, and high gain phased array with beamforming abilities to overcome high path loss 2 . Additionally, these systems should be conformal in form factor with resilient and adaptable performance to bending and on-body effects from both RF and mechanical perspectives 3 , such as massively scalable MIMO enabling the implementation of antenna arrays with thousands of elements on virtually every conformal surface.…”

Dielectric and Mechanical Properties of 3D Printed Nanocomposites with Varied Particle Diameter

“…3D printing has emerged as a promising approach to generate devices that cannot be realized using traditional manufacturing methods. , RF devices fabricated from composite 3D printing materials offer enhanced properties over systems comprised of polymer alone. , Previously, researchers have incorporated ceramic fillers into 3D printable polymers for a variety of applications such as capacitors, varactors, dielectric rod antennas, and lenses . For example, Castles et al demonstrated that by incorporating barium titanate (BaTiO 3 ) nanoparticles into a polymer matrix they were able to increase the relative permittivity of their material by over 3× .…”

“…3D printing has emerged as a promising approach to generate devices that cannot be realized using traditional manufacturing methods. 1,2 RF devices fabricated from composite 3D printing materials offer enhanced properties over systems comprised of polymer alone. 3,4 Previously, researchers have incorporated ceramic fillers into 3D printable polymers for a variety of applications such as capacitors, 5 varactors, 6 dielectric rod antennas, 7 and lenses.…”