Conformal Printing of Military Grade RF Electronics

What we do Since 2017 Obsidian has developed a plasma-based printing process suitable for printing a wide range of pure metals on many different substrate materials. We print at room temperature without degrading the underlying materials. This technology is protected by US patents.   Obsidian prints two-dimensional miniaturized metallic devices directly onto assets such as communication components, missile components and jet engines. These fine metal structures are in the range of millimeters to centimeters with feature sizes as small as 10 µm. Typical devices include sensors, circuits, and electro-magnetic devices such as radio frequency (RF) antennas.   Advantages Obsidian’s fine-structure printing technology has significant advantages over other techniques: Printing a wide variety of pure metals on dielectrics such as ceramics and polymers—an industry breakthrough Achieving excellent electrical conductivity comparable with bulk materials Printing feature sizes down to 20 µm and thicknesses from 20 nm to 20 µm Achieving fine surface finishes suitable for low-loss RF applications up to 100 GHz Demonstrating excellent adhesion to the substrate, for withstanding thermal shock, mechanical shock, and high g forces.   This combination of capabilities has not been achieved by other approaches.   Market Acceptance Within the commercial sector, we have identified our initial target customers as large businesses building advanced RF systems, jet engines and turbo-machinery. Obsidian has demonstrated printing on flat substrates at a laboratory scale to select aerospace customers.   Conformal Printing The company now plans to deliver this same printing capability on conformal (non-flat) surfaces—a breakthrough that will offer transformative capabilities in printed devices such as, circuits, antennas, and sensors, in defense and aerospace.   AFWERX Phase I Objective To identify specific users and their requirements within the Air Force, for non-flat (conformal) surfaces:  conformal printing is an essential capability for jet engine components, missile components, and flexible circuits. Printing robust pure metal devices on these assets is a key enabling technology.