Fully conformal FSS via rapid 3D prototyping

Prototype fabrication of microwave antennae and metamaterials has been dominated by planar manufacturing techniques, complicating experimental validation of designs that utilize more than two dimensions. This paper introduces a methodology that enables the rapid fabrication of electromagnetic prototypes with complex surfaces. As an example, a conformal frequency selective surface is presented in the form of a paraboloid patterned with an array of cross loop features. Experiments confirm the surface exhibits a stop band at 12.5 GHz, achieving a 30dB drop in power transmission.