Abstract: Herein, conductive polymer composites with surface lattice and resonant cavity structures were fabricated by a light-curing 3D printing technology and surface silver deposition. The effect of surface structures on electromagnetic wave shielding effectiveness (EMW SE) was discussed via electromagnetic simulation predictions and experimental studies. Lattice and resonant cavity parameters can be easily optimized to obtain samples with the highest EMW SE values. Both the simulation and experiment results indicate that the EMW SE values of the silver-plated samples can be greatly enhanced by constructing these surface lattices and resonant cavity structures. Specifically, the EMW SE value of the sample with surface lattice structure is ∼101.4 dB, showing a 33.3 % improvement over the corresponding planar sample with the same Ag layer thickness. The EMW SE value of the sample with resonant cavity structure represents a 53.6 % increase compared to the corresponding planar sample with the same Ag layer thickness. Furthermore, the electromagnetic shielding mechanisms of the samples with two structures were discussed in this study. The enhancement of EMW shielding performance is mainly ascribed to the resonant effect in surface lattice and resonant cavity structures, and multiple reflection/scattering at the interface.

Key words: Surface lattice structure, Resonant cavity structure, Electromagnetic simulation, Microwave shielding