SLA printed k-band waveguide components using Tollens reaction silver plating

Abstract

Dielectric printed and plated waveguide components offer cost and weight benefits over metal-printed equivalents, with silver plating using Tollens reagents holding significant advantages over electroplating. This work extends on previous demonstrations of this process in plating stereolithography (SLA)-printed resin waveguide parts by investigating number of plating rounds, reaction temperature, and plastic base. It is found that less than 1.5 dB/m attenuation is achievable in WR42 waveguide using white SLA plastic and silver plating, comparing favorably with the 10 dB/m achieved by printing the same part using Ti64 powder bed fusion. This process improvement is further demonstrated using waveguide power dividers, slow wave delay sections, and rectangular horn antennas.