Design and analysis of 3D-printed hybrid couplers for D-band applications

Abstract This work focuses on the impact of build orientation additively manufactured waveguide-based hybrid couplers for D-band frequency range and relates it to other sources uncertainty within overall manufacturing process measurement instrumentation range. The designed specimens are first printed from UV curable photopolymer resin subsequently metal coated by an electroless silver plating process, which in turn is improved making use slotted waveguide approach. Although requirements toward geometrical precision achieve phase errors below 10° order 0.1 mm, a desktop grade DLP printer utilized this point out prospects limitations additive manufacturing. Furthermore, paths with bends part model their measured attenuation estimated explicitly. Despite narrow field tolerances, one specimen could have been realized, achieves output magnitude imbalance 0.7 dB over 120 155 GHz while at same time exhibiting deviation only <10° desired 90°. With these demonstrated results, proposed approach provides suitability future applications