3D-Printed Surface-Mounted Waveguide Technology

This contribution focuses on the 3D-printed surface-mounted waveguide (SM-WG) technology. In this concept, a printed circuit board (PCB) is combined with a 3D-printed metallized structure, complementing it to an on-PCB air-filled rectangular waveguide. For this, a nonradiative transition between a grounded coplanar waveguide (GCPW) and an SM-WG is developed, which serves as basis to feed SM-WG components. To connect the PCB with the SM-WG structure, a systematic assembly process based on a silver conductive epoxy adhesive is proposed. The concept is validated by a K-band quadrature hybrid Riblet-type coupler, which is designed, manufactured, and measured.