Patent Publication Number: US-2023152090-A1

Title: System and method for sub-wavelength detection for jetting-based additive manufacturing using a split ring resonator probe

Description:
FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT 
     This invention was made with Government support under Contract No. DE-AC52-07NA27344 awarded by the United States Department of Energy. The Government has certain rights in the invention. 
    
    
     FIELD 
     The present disclosure relates to jetting-based additive manufacturing systems, and more particularly to systems and methods for jetting-based additive manufacturing which incorporate an in-situ droplet-on-demand analysis subsystem for detecting and analyzing sub-wavelength discrete droplets. 
     BACKGROUND 
     The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art. 
     Jetting-based additive manufacturing is emerging as a competitive technology due to its advantages over other fusion-based additive manufacturing (AM) methods such as powder bed fusion. These advantages include fast build times and minimal post-processing (see, e.g., V. A. Beck et al., “ A combined numerical and experimental study to elucidate primary breakup dynamics in liquid metal droplet - on - demand printing ,” Physics of Fluids, vol. 32, no. 11, p. 112020, Nov. 2020; Y. Idell, N. Watkins, A. Pascall, J. Jeffries, and K. Blobaum, “ Microstructural Characterization of Pure Tin Produced by the Drop - on - Demand Technique of Liquid Metal Jetting ,” Metall and Mat Trans A, vol. 50, no. 9, pp. 4000-4005, September 2019. 
     In Droplet-on-Demand (DoD) systems, discrete droplets are produced at the nozzle by inducing a volumetric change in the fluid. Because the droplet ejection process can occur near the extremes of printability, the process requires diagnostics capable of detecting size variation, undesired satellite ejection, and other print irregularities. 
     Recent efforts in addressing the challenges with analyzing the droplet ejection process have involved applying machine learning to high-speed video diagnostics (see, e.g., T. Wang, T.-H. Kwok, C. Zhou, and S. Vader, “ In - situ droplet inspection and closed - loop control system using machine learning for liquid metal jet printing ,” Journal of Manufacturing Systems, vol. 47, pp. 83-92, April 2018; J. Huang, L. J. Segura, T. Wang, G. Zhao, H. Sun, and C. Zhou, “ Unsupervised learning for the droplet evolution prediction and process dynamics understanding in inkjet printing ,” Additive Manufacturing, vol. 35, p. 101197, October 2020). However, high-speed video sizes scale up quickly and can produce a major processing bottleneck. As such, recent work by individuals at the assignee of the present disclosure has demonstrated the use of millimeter-wave waveguide-based approaches as an alternative to in-situ diagnostics for real-time monitoring of a custom liquid metal jetting droplet-on-demand system (see, e.g., T. Chang et al., “ An in - situ millimeter - wave diagnostic for droplet characterization during jetting - based additive manufacturing processes ,” in Nondestructive Characterization and Monitoring of Advanced Materials, Aerospace, Civil Infrastructure, and Transportation IX, 2020, vol. 11380, p. 1138008; T. Chang et al., “ In - situ monitoring for liquid metal jetting using a millimeter - wave impedance diagnostic ,” Scientific Reports, vol. 10, no. 1, p. 22325, December 2020). Droplets ranging from 400 μm to 2 mm have been detected using an open-ended waveguide operated at a continuous-wave frequency of 40 GHz. Additionally, early efforts have shown promise for applying machine learning to train high-speed video and microwave data to predict droplet parameters based on microwave data alone. 
     Although these efforts address the key challenges of in-situ diagnostics for jetting-based droplet-on-demand (“DoD”) systems, a critical challenge for practical deployment remains: namely, the desired droplet size of DoD systems is as small as 50 to 100 μm. 
     Although 400 μm diameter droplets have been detected at 40 GHz, this size is substantially sub-wavelength (˜λ/20), and hence the resulting detected signal is extremely low (0.2 dB variation). To extract information beyond the presence of a droplet, the signal-to-noise ratio must be increased. Furthermore, droplets with diameters up to 8 times smaller than the current system detection limit must be characterized. Although operational frequency can be increased to the lower THz regime (˜200-300 GHz) for droplet detection and characterization at these dimensions, the complexity and cost (&gt;$200 k) of terahertz equipment is unreasonable for practical present day AM systems. 
     As such, an important need remains for systems and methods which are able to detect and characterize sub-wavelength droplets with jetting-based DOD systems. 
     SUMMARY 
     This section provides a general summary of the disclosure, and is not a comprehensive disclosure of its full scope or all of its features. 
     In one aspect the present disclosure relates to a system for detecting and analyzing droplets of feedstock material being ejected from an additive manufacturing device. The system may comprise a split ring resonator (SRR) probe including a ring element having a gap. The gap is positioned adjacent a path of travel of the droplets of feedstock material. An excitation signal source may be included for supplying an excitation signal to the SRR probe. An analyzer may be included for analyzing signals generated by the SRR probe. The SRR probe generates the signals in response to perturbations in an electric field generated by the SRR probe as the droplets of feedstock material pass the ring element. The signals are indicative of dimensions of the droplets of feedstock material. 
     In another aspect the present disclosure relates to a system for detecting and analyzing droplets of feedstock material being ejected from a jetting-based additive manufacturing device. The system may comprise a split ring resonator (SRR) probe including a pair of radiators having a ring element disposed therebetween. The ring element has a gap, and the gap is positioned adjacent a path of travel of the droplets of feedstock material such that the droplets travel past and adjacent the gap. A microwave excitation signal source may be included for supplying an excitation signal to the SRR probe. An analyzer may be included for analyzing signals generated by the SRR probe. The SRR probe generates the signals in response to perturbations in an electric field generated by the SRR probe as the droplets of feedstock material pass the ring element. The signals are indicative of a radius of the droplets of feedstock material. 
     In still another aspect the present disclosure relates to a method for detecting and analyzing droplets of feedstock material being ejected from an additive manufacturing device. The method may comprise positioning a split ring resonator (SRR) probe including a ring element having a gap, such that the gap is positioned adjacent a path of travel of the droplets of feedstock material. The method may further include applying an excitation signal to the SRR probe such that the SRR probe creates an electric field in a vicinity of the gap of the ring element. The method may include detecting perturbations in the electric field caused by the droplets of feedstock material travelling adjacent and past the gap, and generating signals in accordance with the perturbations. The method may further include analyzing the signals to correlate the signals to a dimensional feature of each of the droplets moving past the gap. 
     Further areas of applicability will become apparent from the description provided herein. It should be understood that the description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       The drawings described herein are for illustrative purposes only of selected embodiments and not all possible implementations, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. 
       Corresponding reference numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings. 
         FIG.  1    is a high level block diagram of one embodiment of a system in accordance with the present disclosure; 
         FIG.  2    is simplified schematic diagram illustrating an equivalent circuit for the SRR subsystem (without the cylindrical insulator structures), to help illustrate how the SRR probe operates; 
         FIG.  3    is a graph illustrating the resulting amplitude drops in the signal sensed by the SRR subsystem for particles of different sizes, using a single excitation frequency of about 1.5 GHz; 
         FIG.  4    is a high level simulation of how the electric field around the gap in the SRR element is perturbed by the presence of a metal droplet; 
         FIG.  5    is one high level plan view of a circuit board showing how the SRR subsystem may be implemented; and 
         FIG.  6    is a flowchart showing one example of high level operations that may be performed by the system of  FIG.  1    to sense particle diameter. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Example embodiments will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. 
     The present disclosure involves “droplet-on-demand” (“DOD”) jetting-based additive manufacturing systems and methods, and more particularly a system and method which makes use of a split ring resonator approach to detect extremely small droplet sizes, that is droplet sizes typically between 50-100 μm, while simultaneously reducing the required operating frequency to lower microwave frequencies. In this manner equipment costs can be significantly lowered by more than an order of magnitude as a result of not having to use terahertz based diagnostic equipment. The system of the present disclosure makes use of a split ring resonator (“SRR”) probe to characterize droplets with diameters on the order of 100 μm, at lower microwave frequencies, and with high sensitivity. The system and the SRR probe enable deployment of a microwave in-situ diagnostic for liquid metal and dielectric droplet-on-demand printing, for which both the diagnostic resolution and required equipment is expected to serve the practical needs of the additive manufacturing community. 
     Referring to  FIG.  1   , an in-situ SRR sensing system  10  is shown in accordance with one embodiment of the present disclosure. The system  10  in this example may include a SRR probe  12  having first and second radiators  12   a  and  12   b , respectively, spaced slightly apart from one another (e.g., 5 mm-10 mm from one another), a metallic shielding element  12   a   1  enclosing a majority of the first radiator  12   a , a metallic shielding element enclosing a majority of the second radiator  12   b , and a split ring resonator element (“SRR element”)  12   c  having a small gap  12   c   1  positioned between the first and second radiators  12   a  and  12   b . The gap  12   c   1  may vary in dimension, but typically may be on the order of 0.1 mm-1 mm in width, and this dimension may be selected in part based on the overall dimensions of the SRR element  12 . The radius “r” of the SRR element  12  may be typically between about 7 mm and 12 mm, the width “w” may be between about 1 mm-5 mm, and the height “h” may be between about 0.6 mm-0.9 mm. The spacing between edges W 1  and W 2  of the SRR element  12  and the radiators  12   a  and  12   b  may vary as well, but typically is between about 1 mm-2 mm. Again, all these dimensions may vary significantly depending on a specific application. 
     The SRR probe  12  receives a broadband AC excitation signal from a broadband AC excitation signal source  14  on its radiating element  12   a  which is coupled onto the radiating element  12   b  via the SRR element  12   c . This signal will vary in amplitude depending on the diameter of a droplet “D” which is passing closely adjacent to the gap  12   c   1  of the SRR probe  12  during a printing operation. In this regard it will be appreciated that it is important that the SRR probe  12  be positioned close to the print nozzle that is ejecting the droplets of feedstock material being used to print a structure or object. Preferably the gap  12   c   1  is located within 1 mm-5 mm of the path of travel of the droplets leaving the print head, and this distance may vary as well depending on variables such the exact type of material that the droplets are comprised of, as well as other variables. The specific frequency of the excitation signal provided by the broadband AC excitation signal source  14  may vary depending on the needs of a specific application, but a microwave signal with a frequency between 1 GHz and 2 GHz is expected to be suitable for most applications. 
     With further reference to  FIG.  1   , a suitable signal measurement system or device, for example a vector network analyzer (“VNA”)  16 , may be used to receive the signal coupled onto the second radiator  12   b . In this example the VNA  16  is able to both detect the presence of the droplet D passing by the gap  12   c   1 , as well as a diameter of the droplet D. The VNA  16  is a commercially available component (e.g., available from Keysight Technologies, Inc. of Santa Rosa, Calif.) and may be in communication with a computer or processor  18  (referred to simply as “computer  18 ” hereinafter). The VNA  16  may provide data which it has obtained to the computer  18  for further processing. The computer  18  may include a suitable non-volatile memory  20  which includes stored algorithms and/or look-up tables  22  (hereinafter collectively “algorithms/LUTs”) which can be used to help convert the data received into easily understand dimensional data (e.g., droplet size in inches or millimeters) in real time. A communication subsystem  24  may optionally be used to communicate with an optional display system  26  for displaying dimensional data relating to the droplet D size, provided that the VNA  16  or the computer  18  does not include a suitable display. The communications subsystem  24  may also enable interfacing to the VNA  16 , and may provide one or more distinct interfaces (e.g., HDMI, USB, RS-232, RS-422, parallel, etc.) as may be needed to communicate data between the various components mentioned above. 
     Referring briefly to  FIG.  2   , a high level schematic diagram of the SRR probe  12  is shown to help illustrate how the components of the SRR probe operate. The radiators  12   a  and  12   b  are conductive (e.g., metal) elements that essentially act as antennas, with the first radiator  12   a  receiving the broadband AC excitation signal and emitting an electromagnetic wave signal which propagates in part towards the SRR element  12   c . The SRR element  12   c  may likewise be made of an electrically conductive material (e.g., metal, copper, etc.) and couples this electromagnetic wave energy into the second radiator  12   b , with the coupling being influenced by how significantly the electric field in the vicinity of the gap  12   c   1  is perturbed by both the presence of the droplet D as well as its size. The signal electromagnetic wave signal coupled into the second radiator  12   b  is fed into the VNA  16  for analysis. 
     A particular advantage of the SRR probe  12  is that is able perform near-field detection of droplets D at extreme sub-wavelength sizes (˜λ/100), in situ, and in real time during an additive manufacturing process. The SRR probe  12  forms a resonant electromagnetic structure that is electrically “small” when responding to an oscillating electromagnetic field. By electrically “small” it is meant that its dimensions are much smaller than the wavelength at which it resonates. The presence of a metal droplet D near the ring gap  12   c   1  produces a field perturbation which leads to a resonance shift, which will serve as the detection mechanism. Based on the perturbation theory for a cavity resonator, the resonant frequency shift (Δf) from its unperturbed resonance frequency (f o ) due to the presence of a material of volume V is expressed as: 
     
       
         
           
             
               
                 
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     where E o , H o  are the electric and magnetic fields, s and ρ are the original permittivity and permeability and Δs and Δρ are the perturbation in material properties. The SRR probe  12  ( FIG.  1   a   ) can thus be optimized to carry out in-situ droplet detection in the near-field region of the SRR element  12   c  gap  12   c   1 . 
     Preliminary simulations of an initial SRR probe  12  geometry have demonstrated that this approach can produce signal variation on the order of 5 dB for a metal droplet with a diameter of 2 mm at 1.5 GHz. This is graphically illustrated in the graph  100  of  FIG.  3   . Dashed line  102  indicates about 1.5 GHz, and curve  104  shows a baseline signal reading when no droplet D is present near the gap  12   c   1  (in other words a signal produced solely in response to the broadband AC excitation signal). Curves  106  through  110  indicate the perturbation of the electromagnetic signal which is coupled into the second radiator  12   b , as a result of the presence of the droplet D near the SRR element  12   c  gap  12   c   1 . So in this example curve  106  indicates a ΔS 21  change from the baseline curve  104  in signal amplitude corresponding to a 5 dB drop, which is produced by a droplet D having a 1 mm radius. Curve  108  indicates a greater drop of about 7 dB, which is produced by a droplet D having a radius of about 2 mm. Curve  110  indicates a drop of about 9 dB, which is produced by a droplet having a radius of about 3 mm. From these results, it is expected that detection of 100-400 μm radius droplets at less than 15 GHz frequencies ( FIG.  1   b, c   ) is achievable. 
     It should also be noted that previous SRR sensor work has focused on static dielectric and composite characterization applications. This differs from the present system and method described herein in which one or more SRR probes  12  may be used to capture dynamic events in real-time. Additionally, the droplet D material being sensed can be metallic or dielectric. 
       FIG.  4    shows a simulation  200  as to how the electric field strength at the SRR resonant frequency is perturbed in the vicinity of the SRR probe  12  gap  12   c  as a result of the presence of the droplet D. Although the fields are maximum at the gap  12   c   1  of the SRR element  12   c , significant fringing electric fields flow between the two ends of the gap due to the capacitance at the gap. Scattering of the electric fields by the droplet perturbs the electric field strength that serves as the droplet detection mechanism. 
       FIG.  5    shows a high level example of how the SRR probe  12  can be implemented on a circuit board  300 . The radiator  12   a  is formed as a longitudinal conductive strip. The radiator  12   b  is formed as a circular element, and the SRR element  12   c  is formed on the circuit board  300  so that a portion of its material is interposed between the radiators  12   a  and  12   b , with its gap  12   c   1  positioned at the end of the circuit board  300 , and thus able to be in close proximity to the droplet D as the droplet D passes by the gap  12   c   1 . The ability to be implemented in a circuit board configuration enables the SRR probe  12  to be easily used as an in-situ diagnostic probe in additive manufacturing applications, as well as potentially other applications as well. Implementing the probe  12  in a printed circuit board configuration can reduce the required volume of the overall SRR probe  12 . Second, the SRR probe  12  can be designed using concentric rings, as shown in  5 , or even stacked in different board layers to vary probe properties, for example to achieve high sensitivity within different frequency bands. 
       FIG.  6    shows a flowchart  400  which sets forth one example of high level operations that may be performed by the system  10  in detecting the presence and dimension of the droplet D. At operation  402  the SRR probe  12  may be energized with microwave energy from the broadband AC excitation signal source  14 . At operation  404  data is obtained during those periods in between the presence of droplets D, as well as when droplets D are passing by the gab  12   c   1 . At operation  406  the obtained data is analyzed by the VNA  16  to determine the presence and magnitude of an amplitude change in the received data. At operation  408  when an amplitude change is detected, the magnitude of the change is used to determine the diameter of the droplet D that has passed by the gap  12   c   1  of the SRR probe  12 . In this manner a real time stream of data is collected by the VNA  16  which indicates not only the frequency of droplets D that are passing by the gap  12   c   1 , but the radius of each one of the droplets D as well. As such, changes in the radius of the droplets D can be detected in real time. If the dimension of the droplets D should fall outside a predetermined desirable range, this affords the system operator the opportunity to make needed adjustments to the printing system, possibly in real time, to bring the droplet size back within the desired dimension range. 
     While the system  10  has been described as being used with an AC excitation signal source of specific frequency, it will be appreciated that in some implementations it may be advantageous to use two or more frequencies. For example, in some applications the use of two or more difference AC frequencies may enable the capability to detect droplets at larger distances away from the SRR element  12   c  at a lower frequency, and smaller droplets at a higher frequency. 
     The present system and method thus forms a means for in-situ monitoring and detecting of droplet presence and dimensions, in real time, and providing real time data to a user regarding droplet dimensions. While the system  10  and method described herein are especially well suited to jetting-based additive manufacturing systems, it will be appreciated that the teachings presented herein may readily be extended to virtually any application where in-situ detection of the presence of metal or dielectric particles, as well as the size of such particles, is needed. As such, the various embodiments described herein should not be interpreted to being limited to only jetting-based additive manufacturing applications. 
     The foregoing description of the embodiments has been provided for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the disclosure. Individual elements or features of a particular embodiment are generally not limited to that particular embodiment, but, where applicable, are interchangeable and can be used in a selected embodiment, even if not specifically shown or described. The same may also be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the disclosure, and all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the disclosure. 
     Example embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough, and will fully convey the scope to those who are skilled in the art. Numerous specific details are set forth such as examples of specific components, devices, and methods, to provide a thorough understanding of embodiments of the present disclosure. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that specific details need not be employed, that example embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and that neither should be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure. In some example embodiments, well-known processes, well-known device structures, and well-known technologies are not described in detail. 
     The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed. 
     When an element or layer is referred to as being “on,” “engaged to,” “connected to,” or “coupled to” another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being “directly on,” “directly engaged to,” “directly connected to,” or “directly coupled to” another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items. 
     Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments. 
     Spatially relative terms, such as “inner,” “outer,” “beneath,” “below,” “lower,” “above,” “upper,” and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature&#39;s relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as “below” or “beneath” other elements or features would then be oriented “above” the other elements or features. Thus, the example term “below” can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.