Low-cost, high-resolution printing of planar microwave structures for rapid design iterations

Printed circuit board designs for radio frequency circuits are often manufactured with either lower-resolution techniques, such as laser etching or mechanical milling, or higher-resolution photolithographic techniques. In recent years, there has been interest in developing new techniques to achieve high resolution and rapid fabrication at low cost. This paper reports on a screen printing process based on established commercial procedures that achieves these goals and provides an attractive option for test and development. Specifically, this technique provides micron resolution at relatively low cost and swift design-to-mask turnover rate. In this paper, we establish that the characteristics of the ink and printing process are suitable for electronic devices. In comparison to devices fabricated with traditional techniques, this paper demonstrates that screen printing produces devices with lower but still adequate performance levels.