Inkjet-printing- and electroless-plating- based fabrication of RF circuit structures on high-frequency substrates

Sridhar, Ashok; Reiding, J.; Adelaar, H.; Achterhoek, F.; Dijk, D.J. van; Akkerman, Remko

doi:10.1088/0960-1317/19/8/085020

Cited by 36 publications

(31 citation statements)

References 15 publications

(22 reference statements)

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“…[11][12][13][14][15]. One of the best reports has shown an insertion loss of~0.5 dB at its center frequency (2 GHz), but it utilized inkjet printing along with electroless plating to increase the conductivity and thickness of the metal 16 . This work provides a process beyond 2D inkjet printing of the conductor on a standard support substrate; the metal is truly integrated into the printed dielectric to build quality multilayer RF capacitors and inductors with crossover interconnects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fully inkjet-printed microwave passive electronics

2017

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Fully inkjet-printed three-dimensional (3D) objects with integrated metal provide exciting possibilities for on-demand fabrication of radio frequency electronics such as inductors, capacitors, and filters. To date, there have been several reports of printed radio frequency components metallized via the use of plating solutions, sputtering, and low-conductivity pastes. These metallization techniques require rather complex fabrication, and do not provide an easily integrated or versatile process. This work utilizes a novel silver ink cured with a low-cost infrared lamp at only 80°C, and achieves a high conductivity of 1 × 10 7 S m −1. By inkjet printing the infrared-cured silver together with a commercial 3D inkjet ultraviolet-cured acrylic dielectric, a multilayer process is demonstrated. By using a smoothing technique, both the conductive ink and dielectric provide surface roughness values of o500 nm. A radio frequency inductor and capacitor exhibit state-of-the-art quality factors of 8 and 20, respectively, and match well with electromagnetic simulations. These components are implemented in a lumped element radio frequency filter with an impressive insertion loss of 0.8 dB at 1 GHz, proving the utility of the process for sensitive radio frequency applications.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fully inkjet-printed microwave passive electronics

2017

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“…Other potential techniques for printing interconnects include screen printing, 2,6 and inkjet printing. 12 In particular, inkjet printing is an attractive method since it is an additive process which reduces the amount of waste generated, compared to the conventional printed circuit board (PCB) processes or screen printing. Furthermore, inkjet printing is appealing in terms of realizing low cost prototypes, compared to screen printing where stencils are required.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1,[17][18][19] Others have tried to alleviate the problem by interacting with the supplier to obtain substrates with a more favorable topography. 12 This was achieved by purchasing substrates with minimal copper layer roughness, such that the copper cladding could be removed manually. 12 This resulted in substrates with reduced surface roughness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Surface Treatments for Inkjet Printing onto a PTFE-Based Substrate for High Frequency Applications

Lim

Goh

Liu

2013

Ind. Eng. Chem. Res.

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Inkjet printing onto laminates for use in high frequency applications (high frequency laminates) is challenging, due to the substrate surface roughness present after etching away the copper layer(s). This has a detrimental effect on interconnect losses as the frequency increases. In this paper, different surface treatments to reduce the surface roughness of a typical high frequency laminate (RO3006) are investigated. In particular, the importance of matching the substrate surface energy to the ink to achieve a smooth coated layer for the case of a UV cured insulator is demonstrated. This is achievable within the parameters of heating the platen, which is a more flexible approach compared to modifying the ink to improve the ink-substrate interaction. In printing onto the surface modified substrates, the substrate roughness was observed to affect the printed line width significantly. A surface roughness factor was introduced to take into account the phenomenon by modifying the original formula of Smith et al. 1Lastly, the authors show that the printed line widths are also influenced by the surface tension arising from charges present on the surface modified substrates.

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“…The mechanism behind the copper growth has been explained by Kao and Chou. [10] The fabrication of RF structures using the abovementioned method was demonstrated by Sridhar, et al, [11] with the example of an S-band filter and an RF transmission line. In order to determine the influence of the surface characteristics of the substrate material on adhesion, a CF 4 /O 2 plasma etching process was used to impart varying degrees of roughness and surface energy to the substrate material.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fabrication of RF Circuit Structures on a PCB Material Using Inkjet Printing-Electroless Plating and the Substrate Preparation for the Same

Sridhar

Perik

Reiding

et al. 2009

Transactions of The Japan Institute of Electronics Packaging

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This paper describes the optimisation of the surface characteristics of a high-frequency substrate material widely used in the PCB (printed circuit board) industry by means of CF 4 /O 2 plasma etching, in order to make it suitable for the fabrication of RF (radio frequency) circuit structures by a combination of inkjet printing and electroless plating. A statistical DoE (design of experiments) based on a CCRD (central composite rotatable design) was used to systematically vary the plasma etching parameters and explore the characteristics of the etching process. This experimental design yielded 31 substrates, all of which were assessed in terms of surface energy, surface roughness and adhesion. Out of these substrates, 5 were identified as having the most favourable surface characteristics. Finally, RF circuit structures in the form of S-band filters were fabricated on these substrates using an inkjet printing-electroless plating combination, and the RF performance of these structures was characterised and compared.

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Inkjet-printing- and electroless-plating- based fabrication of RF circuit structures on high-frequency substrates

Cited by 36 publications

References 15 publications

Fully inkjet-printed microwave passive electronics

Fully inkjet-printed microwave passive electronics

Surface Treatments for Inkjet Printing onto a PTFE-Based Substrate for High Frequency Applications

Fabrication of RF Circuit Structures on a PCB Material Using Inkjet Printing-Electroless Plating and the Substrate Preparation for the Same

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