3D Printed Double Ridged Waveguide Rotman Lens System

Manufacturing of complex and precise passive electromagnetic systems has become feasible with the enhancing capabilities of 3D printing. This work demonstrates design, fabrication, performance and associated challenges of a double ridged waveguide Rotman lens with +/- 30° scan range. The Rotman lens is fabricated using stereolithography (SLA) in a split-block approach to ensure uniform copper plating on the interior. Good agreement between measured and simulated results from C-to Ku-band proves that the 3D printing is a fast maturing fabrication technique ready for integration of low loss, wideband, and complex passive microwave devices with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and similar platforms.