METALLIZATION ON PLASTIC
Waveguide antennas feature waveguide structures to direct and radiate electromagnetic waves from one point to another. One of the more common applications for waveguide antennas today is automotive radar for advanced driving assistance systems (ADAS).
Moving forward, more sophisticated requirements for efficient ADAS for vehicles are expected to come into play, resulting in increased numbers of radar sensors needed to guide our vehicles. Waveguide antennas are believed to be a big part of these new ADAS solutions, and in the future also for autonomous vehicles (AVs).
Waveguides antennas can be made from metal, or from plastic for lower weight and manufacturing cost. In the case of plastic, the antenna is metallized with a highly conductive coating. Depending on the frequency of the antenna and other engineering aspects related to its design, the coating thickness can range from fractions of a µm up to a few µm.
In the case of metal antennas, coatings for increased conductivity may still be beneficial in certain cases.
Impact Coatings has developed highly conductive silver alloys, that provide better corrosion resistance than pure silver and have good wetting properties for soldering. Silver alloys are popular solutions for waveguide antennas due to their performance matched with cost-efficient production.
Other high demand materials include pure metals that have high electrical conductivity. To enhance further functional properties and adhesion, engineered multilayers and alloys can be produced utilizing PVD and our versatile INLINECOATER™ PVD systems.
The INLINECOATER™ PVD systems from Impact Coatings enable cost-efficient coating production in all volume scenarios.
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