Science Daily February 29, 2024
Additive manufacturing with high-performance polymers can realize lightweight and complex geometries that can also be manufactured on board. However, polymers are electromagnetically inefficient for applications requiring electrical conductivity, such as guiding microwave signals. An international team of researchers (Canada, USA – Drexel University) developed MXene coated high-efficiency, lightweight additively manufactured microwave components with waveguiding functionality from 8 to 33 GHz, covering low earth orbit (LEO) frequencies, with a power-handling capability up to 10 dB and a transmission coefficient of 93 %. After a single dip-coating cycle, the polymer waveguide performed only 2 % below an eight times heavier metallic equivalent. Frequency/polarization filtering was enabled by implementing special geometries. They demonstrated a range of microwave functionalities, including resonance. The MXene-coated components could replace 3D-printed and bulk metals, decreasing weight and cost in space… read more. TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Graphical abstract. Credit: Materials Today, 19 January 2024