3-D Printers Open New Design Space for Wireless Devices

Researchers at Duke University have 3-D printed potent electromagnetic metamaterials, using an electrically conductive material compatible with a standard 3-D printer.

The demonstration could revolutionize the rapid design and prototyping of radio frequency applications such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, wireless sensing and communications devices. Benjamin Wiley and Shengrong Ye, a postdoctoral researcher in his group, created a 3-D printable material that is 100 times more conductive than anything currently on the market.

The material is currently being sold under the brand name Electrifi by Multi3D LLC, a startup founded by Wiley and Ye. While still not nearly as conductive as regular copper, it might just be conductive enough to create a 3-D printed electromagnetic metamaterial.

Read more at Duke University

Image Credit: Duke University

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