Realization of Fully 3D Printed W-Band Bandpass Filters Using Aerosol Jet Printing Technology

This paper presents for the first time a realization of fully 3D printed filters operating in the W-band. Aerosol jet printing technology was used to deposit both a dielectric substrate and conductive traces. Printed polyimide ink provides a low-loss substrate with a smooth surface suitable for mm-wave applications. Conductive silver ink composes a metal layer with low resistivity. Two bandpass filters of different topologies operating at 94 GHz and 98 GHz, respectively, and using a via-less CPW to microstrip transition have been designed, manufactured and measured. The experimental results demonstrate, that aerosol jet printing has application potential as a low-cost, high-resolution and fast prototyping process, making it a suitable alternative for manufacturing mm-wave circuits above 80 GHz.