Improved performance of 3D metal printed antenna through gradual reduction in surface roughness

The research presents the performance evaluation of a 3D metal printed antenna, as the inherent surface roughness is gradually reduced using different surface treatment techniques. In this work, surface treatment is performed on a complex shaped, 3D metal printed Sierpinski gasket antenna, fabricated from Ti-6A1-4V using a Direct Metal Laser Sintering (DMLS) technique on EOSINT M280 system. Following the initial assessment, the surface roughness has been reduced gradually, in stages, using surface treatment techniques such as wet blasting and polishing. To monitor the surface morphological changes on the antenna, a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) and White Light Interferometer (WLI) have been used. Finally, both the path loss (S21) and the return loss (S11) are measured, to track the RF performance changes on the 3D metal printed antenna, as a function of reducing surface roughness.