3D printing enables new approaches in antenna technology

A research team led by Xiaoyu Zheng, Associate Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, has developed an innovative 3D printing platform that significantly simplifies the production of complex antenna structures. This platform, known as “Charge Programmed Multi-Material 3D Printing” (CPD), enables the combination of highly conductive metals with various dielectric materials within a three-dimensional structure.

According to a study recently published in Nature Communications, this technology offers numerous new possibilities for antenna design, ranging from 5G and 6G networks to applications in aerospace.

Unlike traditional methods, which often require expensive metal powders and high-energy lasers, CPD uses a light-based 3D printing process in combination with catalytic materials. These materials enable targeted metal deposition on polymer structures, facilitating the creation of highly complex yet lightweight antennas.

Zheng said: “It allows essentially any complex 3D structure, including complex lattices, and has demonstrated deposition of copper with near pristine conductivity, as well as magnetic materials, semiconductors, nanomaterials and combinations of these.”

CPD, Zheng said, is “very uniquely suited for antennas, because nearly all antennas need two components: One is the metal phase, the conductor, and the other is the dielectric phase, which is not conductive — and [until now] there has been no technology capable of directly patterning or synthesizing the conductor and dielectric materials together.”

For example, Zheng says, “you cannot use a regular polymer in space. You need a high temperature polymer like Kapton, which is a good material in aerospace [stable at both very high and very low temperatures]. Now you can have Kapton and a pattern of metal traces interwoven in 3D at the same time.”

A key application lies in the precise shaping of electromagnetic waves, achieved through flexible antenna design. Professor Yahya Rahmat-Samii from UCLA, co-author of the study, emphasized that the platform could enable entirely new antenna designs tailored to specific requirements. The research team sees potential in various areas, including wearable medical sensors and ultra-lightweight communication systems.

Co-author Yahya Rahmat-Samii, professor of electrical and computer engineering at UCLA, said: “There are probably numerous different antenna structures, depending on the application you have in mind,” he said.

In the future, the team plans to further explore the technology’s capabilities. Controlled combinations of materials and structural complexity could yield antennas optimized for specific environments. To drive these developments, a start-up focusing on medical sensors has already been established. The researchers hope their technology will make a significant contribution to advancing antenna technology.