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A 3D-printed broadband millimeter wave absorber
Matthew Petroff1, John Appel1, Karwan Rostem2
1Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland 21218, USA.
The Review of Scientific Instruments
|March 6, 2019
Summary
We developed a 3D-printed millimeter wave absorber using fused filament fabrication. This broadband absorber is designed for cosmic microwave background telescopes and survives cryogenic conditions.
Area of Science:
- Additive Manufacturing
- Electromagnetics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Millimeter wave (mmWave) absorbers are crucial for reducing unwanted electromagnetic reflections.
- Traditional absorbers can be bulky, expensive, and difficult to customize.
- Applications in sensitive instruments like cosmic microwave background (CMB) telescopes require specialized, robust absorbers.
Purpose of the Study:
- To design and characterize a novel 3D-printed broadband graded index millimeter wave absorber.
- To optimize the absorber design for manufacturability using fused filament fabrication (FFF).
- To evaluate the absorber's performance for applications in cryogenic environments, such as CMB telescopes.
Main Methods:
- Additive manufacturing using a fused filament fabrication (FFF) 3D printer with a carbon-loaded high impact polystyrene filament.
- Design optimization utilizing a space-filling curve to enhance manufacturability.
- Electromagnetic characterization of the absorber's reflectivity from 63 GHz to 115 GHz and 140 GHz to 215 GHz.
- Comparison of experimental reflectivity measurements with electromagnetic simulations.
- Testing for survival of cryogenic thermal cycling.
Main Results:
- Successful fabrication of a broadband graded index millimeter wave absorber via FFF 3D printing.
- Measured reflectivity data aligns well with electromagnetic simulations across the specified frequency bands.
- The 3D-printed absorber demonstrates performance suitable for terminating stray light in sensitive applications.
- The absorber material and structure proved resilient to cryogenic thermal cycling.
Conclusions:
- 3D printing offers a viable and customizable method for producing broadband millimeter wave absorbers.
- The space-filling curve design strategy effectively enhances manufacturability for FFF.
- The developed absorber meets key performance and environmental requirements for CMB telescope applications.
- This technology advances the development of specialized electromagnetic components for scientific instrumentation.
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