Metallization Techniques for Additive Manufacturing of Antennas and RF Systems: A Survey

Additive manufacturing has recently become a manufacturing method of choice of the antennas and RF components, gaining traction not only in research but also in industrial applications. This fabrication approach offers unique advantages, including the ability to create complex, lightweight antenna structures monolithically, all within a low-cost and rapid fabrication process, using a wide variety of materials. While direct metal printing is possible, it typically yields heavy structures with rough surface finishes. The more widely used method involves high resolution dielectric printing followed by metallization. Given the increasing interest in this fabrication approach, several review papers have been published to highlight different additive manufacturing techniques. However, they mostly focus on the dielectric printing, offering limited insights into the various metallization strategies. The goal of this paper is to bridge that gap by compiling, categorizing and comparing the latest metallization techniques used in the literature to implement antennas and RF components in a single resource. The survey covers both full-surface metallization techniques (electroless plating, dip coating, spray plating), as well as more advanced methods (hydro/water transfer printing, screen printing, inkjet printing, fused deposition modeling, aerosol jet printing, ultra-precise dispensing) that enable high resolution patterned metallization. For each technique, the paper details the required equipment and conductive materials, and highlights notable antenna designs realized through these approaches. The authors believe this work will serve as a valuable reference for the antenna and RF research community involved in additive manufacturing.