Broadband 3D-Printed Polarizer Based on Metallic Transverse Electro-Magnetic Unit-Cells

This article presents a 3-D polarizing screen that converts linear to circular polarization in a broadband frequency range. The conceived unit cells are fully metallic and based on structures that support transverse electromagnetic modes. Such cells have been specially conceived to be manufactured through metal 3-D printing based on selective laser melting. This is the first time that a polarizing structure presents such a broadband behavior without the use of dielectric materials. In addition, this is the first successful proof of concept of additive manufacturing in the context of metallic periodic surfaces, which is enabled by the use of a codesign approach. The present proposal is validated through the design and manufacturing of a prototype operating in K- and Ka-bands. Successful experimental results are reported.