Surface Resistance of Metallised 3D-Printed Plastic Surfaces Measured in the C-Band Using a Dielectric Resonator

In this paper the microwave surface resistance (Rs) of silver metallised plastic surfaces produced by selective laser sintering (SLS) and stereolithography (SLA) are measured. Measurements are performed using a specialised dielectric resonator that utilises a unique “Lift-Off” calibration step. Results for the Rs at 7.5 GHz are given for the samples in a variety of build orientations, encouragingly no bias towards a particular build direction is found. Differences in performance between the SLS and SLA are noted and commented on, with reference to their suitability for low-power, low-cost applications.