Ink Jet Printed Silver Lines Formed in Microchannels Exhibit Lower Resistance Than Their Unstructured Counterparts

Abstract

This article reports on a number of experiments that have been performed, which show that the resistance of silver lines formed in channels is lower than silver lines that have been formed on unstructured surfaces. Channels were formed either by being cut into polyimide (Kapton) using a laser or by hot embossing a polycarbonate blend (Bayfol). An ink jet printer was used to dispense silver-containing ink over the embossed channels, the laser cut channels and over unstructured Kapton and Bayfol to allow comparison. Two types of silver-containing ink were used, one was a nanoparticle (NP) ink and the other was a metallo-organic decomposition (MOD) ink. For the NP ink, a decrease in resistance was seen for the lines formed in hot embossed channels. For the MOD ink, the resistance decrease was seen for lines formed in both the embossed and the laser cut channels.

Encapsulating and inkjet-printing flexible conductive patterns on a fluoroelastomer for harsh hydrocarbon fluid environments

“…Among them, inkjet printing is popular because of its ability to print directly on a flexible substrate and numerous advantages including mask-free fabrication and fabricating the whole device in a single and transfer-free processing step. 5 Research on the inkjet printing of conductive silver ink onto flexible substrates like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), 6,7 polyethylene terephthalate (PET), 8,9 polyimide/Kapton, 10,11 and textiles 12 has been completed; however, direct printing of silver ink on a FKM substrate and encapsulation of these printed patterns with FKM have not been explored to the authors' knowledge.…”

Reactive Silver Oxalate Ink Composition with Enhanced Curing Conditions for Flexible Substrates

“…In addition to printing functional electronic elements, particular effort has been made toward printing ink formulations used to produce electronic traces, interconnects, and contact points. − Silver, copper, carbon nanotubes, and graphene inks are being studied for printing such traces. These inks are being developed using particle-based (pigment), − solution-phase (dye), − and, in some examples, hybrid , approaches. To overcome the printing process limitations imparted by particle-based dispersions, solution-phase inks that produce a metal conductive trace upon thermal activation, known as reactive or metal–organic-decomposition (MOD) inks, have been developed. ,, …”