Xin's 3-D Printing Tech Lands Cover of IEEE Publication

Research by ECE professor Hao Xin was featured on the cover of an April 2017 special issue of Proceedings of the IEEE, a monthly peer-reviewed journal published by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

The publication highlights work by Xin and postdoctoral researcher Min Liang on 3-D additive manufacturing techniques for electromagnetic components, as illustrated by the cover image: an X-band WR-90 waveguide feed for transmitting energy and an Eaton lens, used in high-frequency antenna systems.

The lens was produced in Xin's UA Millimeter Wave Circuits and Antennas Laboratory, which was one of the first to adopt 3-D printing techniques to make metamaterials – engineered materials with properties not found in nature that are designed to affect electromagnetic waves and sound in ways impossible to achieve with traditional materials.

The lab also uses 3-D printers to make a range of conventional things, such as regular antennas and integrated circuits.