Effect of processing parameters on laser sintering of silver MOD inks for inkjet printing

Abstract

Sintering is essential for inkjet printing and laser sintering is a promising sintering technology. In this study, the effect of laser sintering processing parameters on the sintering quality of silver content metal‐organic‐decomposition (MOD) inks is studied. A novel mathematic model is developed to reveal the temperature evolutions in MOD inks and the substrates during laser sintering. In the novel model, the change of thermal conductivity of MOD inks is taken into consideration for the first time to improve simulation accuracy. The simulation results agree well with the experiments, showing the advantages of the mathematic model. The surface morphology of the sintered MOD inks are also observed through experiments. The simulation and experimental results show that the laser sintering processing parameters have significant effects on the sintering quality. With authors’ optimised laser sintering processing parameters, the printed pattern can be sufficiently sintered and its electronic conductivity can reach 1.56 × 10–7 S/m. Thus, a sintering optimisation strategy is proposed based on the results. Finally, a microstrip antenna is fabricated with the optimised sintering strategy. The performance of the antenna agree well with the simulation results, indicating authors’ optimising strategy is useful for industrial production.

Low Temperature Sintered Silver Nanoflake Paste for Power Device Packaging and Its Anisotropic Sintering Mechanism

“…After reaching the equilibrium stage, the total weight loss of the silver nanoflakes is ∼1.3% (Figure f), which results from the release of PVP and water absorbed on the surface of the silver nanoflakes, and a second weight loss of 1.22% occurrs at ∼340 °C, mainly attributed to the decomposition of PVP. This is in good agreement with the range of 250–400 °C described in the literature. − Although PVP shows a high thermal decomposition temperature, its total content in the silver paste is extremely low (about 1.02%), which not only maintains a good monodispersed state of the silver nanoflakes (Figure b) but also avoids serious negative effects on the sintering process of the silver flakes.…”

Advanced Applications of Metal–Organic Decomposition Inks in Printed Electronics

“…Yang at al. and Zhao et al used numerical and experimental methods to study how laser sintering parameters affects the quality of traces made from inkjet-printed silver MOD inks. , The studies monitored the temperature during the sintering process, as well as the morphology of silver films. Increases in laser power caused the temperature to increase in the ink layer and substrates, while increases in the laser scanning speed and scanning line interval resulted in the decrease in temperature of the ink layer and substrates.…”

Oxygen Plasma-Induced Conversion of Silver Complex Ink into Conductive Coatings

“…There are two main types of metallic inks: nanoparticle suspension inks and metal-organic decomposition (MOD) inks. MOD inks consist of metals in an ionic state [12,13].…”