Investigation of the Hot Embossing Technology for Low-Cost Antennas Printed on Polymer Substrates

In this contribution a novel metallization technique for the realization of millimeter-wave microstrip patch antennas is presented. This technology called hot embossing is a fast and economic process originating from the production of three-dimensional molded interconnect devices (3D-MID). Conductive structures are coated onto plastic parts or plastic foils using a heated stamp. To the best knowledge of the authors, this approach has not yet been employed and therefore will be investigated for the fabrication of low-cost printed antennas at millimeter-wave frequencies. The focus of this contribution is on the evaluation of process parameters and interactions with substrate and copper foil characteristics as well as the fabrication and measurement of single microstrip patch antennas designed for the 24 GHz ISM-band. Far-reaching potentials lie in the utilization of the three-dimensional manufacturing technology for the construction of conformal integrated antennas.