Additive Manufacturing Methods for Millimeter-Wave Vacuum Electronics

We discuss progress on additive manufacturing (AM) methods for the fabrication of millimeter-wave (mmW) vacuum electronic (VE) devices. Polymer 3D printing is discussed for fabrication of light-weight RF body assemblies with many integrated RF components such as waveguide power couplers and power combiners. Stainless-steel binder-jetting is discussed for fabrication of high-power VE circuits in metal, combined with infiltration of the bulk metal with a filler metal (such as Cu) to increase the electrical and thermal conductivity to the high level needed for mmW circuits.