Additive manufacturing of 96 MHz surface acoustic wave devices by means of superfine inkjet printing

Abstract

The additive manufacturing of electronic devices via inkjet printing presents a versatile alternative to the time and material consuming traditional lithographic techniques. Superfine inkjet (SIJ) printing is applied for the rapid prototyping of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Using a commercial platinum ink, narrow conducting lines with about 3 times the bulk resistivity are created. We are the first to directly pattern interdigital transducers (IDTs) of about 10 μm width onto piezoelectric 128° YX LiNbO3 substrates at room temperature. Reflection and transmission curves are recorded. The observed resonance frequency of 95.6 MHz matches to the theoretical value of about 100 MHz for the device. We propose that the SIJ technology can produce IDTs of down to 1 μm width, venturing into the production of up to 1 GHz SAW devices.

Inkjet Printing of Plate Acoustic Wave Devices

“…The distinction was likely due to the inhomogeneous surface of the electrode ( Figure 4 e). Such distinction has been reported previously [ 8 , 22 ].…”

“…In this case, the strip width was about 10 µm. This technology requires the use of a specialized expensive superfine inkjet (SIJ) printer [ 22 ]. It should be noted that the acoustic waves of zero and higher order in piezoelectric plates have been actively investigated recently to develop various biological, chemical, and physical sensors on their basis [ 23 , 24 , 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29 ].…”

Synthesis of Nanoparticles by Spark Discharge as a Facile and Versatile Technique of Preparing Highly Conductive Pt Nano-Ink for Printed Electronics

“…The achieved value of ρ is about 1.1 times higher than the resistivity of bulk platinum 1.06·10 −7 Ω∙m. In comparison with other studies [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ], the developed platinum nano-ink shows lower values of resistivity after thermal sintering, see Table 3 .…”

“…Indeed, the inset to Figure 11 shows that the Pt lines sintered at 750–900 °C have a high degree of sintering and low residual porosity. Additionally, it can be seen from comparative Table 3 that the developed nano-ink has a high concentration of particles (25 wt.%) in comparison with other studies [ 73 , 74 , 75 , 76 ], see Table 3 . The use of concentrated nano-ink is an additional advantage since it allows reducing the time for printing lines with a given resistance.…”

Surface Acoustic Wave Devices Printed at the Aerosol-Jet Resolution Limit

“…Specifically, printed trace pitch, p, must be minimized for maximum . Numerous emerging electronics printing methods are being investigated, with the highest resolution printed SAW devices reported to date being by electrohydrodynamic printing at 10 m and 95.6 MHz [9]. Granted that AJ printing is unable to match the resolution of other emerging methods [10,11], it is of special interest for SAW based sensors due the versatility and relative maturity of AJ technology compared to other highresolution printing options.…”