Electroless Copper Deposition for Antenna Applications

The Yagi-Uda type antenna was fabricated from electroless and electrochemical copper plating of 3D printed ABS parts. Due to the extremely high macro-porosity of 3D printed surfaces, additional processing in acetone vapour was required. This treatment greatly smoothens the surface and reduces porosity. As a result, high-quality chemical and electrochemical copper layers were produced. The results of multiple tests confirm the suitability of the developed method for producing antenna components.