Ink-jet printed ring resonator with integrated Microfluidic components

Abstract

Purpose The main purpose of this study is to test the performance of the ink-jet printed microwave resonant circuits on Low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC) substrates combined with microfluidic channels for sensor applications. Normally, conductive patterns are deposited on an LTCC substrate by means of the screen-printing technique, but in this paper applicability of ink-jet printing in connection with LTCC materials is demonstrated. Design/methodology/approach A simple microfluidic LTCC sensor based on the microstrip ring resonator was designed. It was assumed the micro-channel, located under the ring, was filled with a mixture of DI water and ethanol, and the operating frequency of the resonator was tuned to 2.4 GHz. The substrate was fabricated by standard LTCC process, and the pattern of the microstrip ring resonator was deposited over the substrate by means of an ink-jet printer. Performance of the sensor was assessed with the use of various volumetric concentrations of DI water and ethanol. Actual changes in concentration were detected by means of microwave measurements. Findings It can be concluded that ink-jet printing is a feasible technique for fast fabrication of micro-strip circuits on LTCC substrates, including microfluidic components. Further research needs to be conducted to improve the reliability, accuracy and performance of this technique. Originality/value The literature shows the use of ink-jet printing for producing various conductive patterns in different applications. However, the idea to replace the screen-printing with the ink-jet printing on LTCC substrates in connection with microwave-microfluidic applications is not widely studied. Some questions concerning accuracy and reliability of this technique are still open.

Microfluidic Modules Integrated with Microwave Components—Overview of Applications from the Perspective of Different Manufacturing Technologies

“…Moreover, a new trend of fabricating ceramic microsystems has recently appeared—additive manufacturing, which in the near future will significantly increase the variety of fabricated ceramic microsystems [ 73 ]. Hence, LTCC seems to be suited for solutions combining microfluidic components with microwave technology, a trend that can be observed in the literature [ 13 , 74 , 75 , 76 ].…”

Microstrip resonators on polyethylene terephthalate substrates realized by direct-write technology

“…Based on used printing technology, the edges or surfaces of printed structures can be uneven, and their mechanical resistivity is usually lower [1]. PE technologies are revolutionary for research and development activities as well as for production efficiency, thus many studies are focused on the usability of PE in the highfrequency domain [7][8][9]. Previous studies show the usability of printed transmission interconnects [10] up to ones of GHz with a low attenuation constant [11].…”

The Impact of Technological Parameters on the Quality of Inkjet-Printed Structures

“…It is characterized by low amounts of waste and the use of a small amount of material needed for the process. Application areas for printed electronics include, so far, resistors [5], organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) [6], display [7], solar cells [8], thin-film transistors [9], capacitors [10,11], microwave circuits [12,13], and many others.…”