Development of metallic coating technique onto 3D-printed polymer for fabrication of Terahertz wireless communication devices

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 20H02511
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B)
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 27020:Chemical reaction and process system engineering-related
• Research Institution: Kumamoto University (2023); The University of Tokyo (2020-2022)
• Principal Investigator: Momose Takeshi 熊本大学, 半導体・デジタル研究教育機構, 准教授 (10611163)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): 小西 邦昭 東京大学, 大学院理学系研究科(理学部), 准教授 (60543072)
• Project Period (FY): 2020-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: 超臨界流体薄膜堆積法 / 金属コーティング / テラヘルツ波 / 導波管 / 3Dプリンタ

Outline of Final Research Achievements

We have investigated a method of forming terahertz wave devices by forming a polymer 3D structure using a 3D printer and coating the surface with a thin metal film to form fine and complex structures that could not be achieved by conventional metal cutting. A physical model was constructed to quantitatively derive the propagation loss, and it was found that copper is the optimum film material and that the required film thickness is 100-300 nm, depending on the bulk resistivity of the film. We also developed a supercritical fluid thin film deposition (SCFD) technique with excellent step coverage to form low-resistance copper films uniformly in terahertz wave devices with complex three-dimensional structures fabricated by a 3D printer.

Free Research Field

反応工学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

次世代の高速無線通信技術としてテラヘルツ(THz)波通信の開発が各国で行われている。THz波通信システムは送受信機，導波管，アンテナなどからなるが，極細(数百um)かつ超高アスペクト比(数百)な導波管形成が課題となっている。ミリ波デバイスは金属の切削加工によりデバイスを形成してきたが，寸法の小さいテラヘルツ波デバイスでは難しい。本研究で構築したポ3Dプリンタによるポリマー3次元構造とSCFDによる金属膜被覆の組み合わせは本問題を解決できる可能性を秘めている。