[ By Zhang Liyan | Tang Ruohan ]

【#Tech24H】Scientists from Rice University in the U.S. and the National University of Singapore have jointly developed a new near-field microwave 3D printing process. The team used a metamaterial-inspired near-field electromagnetic structure (Meta-NFS) to compress microwave energy into a closed heating zone as thin as a human hair. This allows the process to heat only the electronic ink at precise points during 3D printing, leaving the surrounding materials unharmed, greatly reducing the risk of damage. This breakthrough solves a problem that has plagued the field of electronics manufacturing for over a decade: how to heat printing ink without damaging previously deposited materials, thereby enabling different performance materials to be formed in one go in electronics manufacturing.