Inkjet printing of conductive materials: a review

Abstract

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to present an exhaustive review of research studies and activities in the inkjet printing of conductive materials.Design/methodology/approachThis paper gives a detailed literature survey of research carried out in inkjet printing of conductive materials.FindingsThis article explains the inkjet printing process and the various types of conductive inks. It then examines the various factors that affect the quality of inkjet printed interconnects such as printing parameters, materials and substrate treatments. Methods of characterising both the inkjet printing process and the electrical properties of printed conductive materials are also presented. Finally relevant applications of this technology are described.Originality/valueInkjet printing is currently one of the cheapest direct write techniques for manufacturing. The use of this technique in electronic manufacturing, where interconnects and other conductive features are required is an area of increasing relevance to the fields of electronics manufacturing, packaging and assembly. This review paper would therefore be of great value and interest to this community.

Modular microfluidic valve structures based on reversible thermoresponsive ionogel actuators

“…Considering that the fabrication of the ionogels valves was performed manually by drop casting the monomer mixture, it is reassuring that the majority of the valves were operative after fabrication (> 90 %, n = 10). This percentage could be increased if the fabrication of the valves is automated by using other techniques like inkjet printing [26] [27] . The setup described in the experimental section was used in order to investigate the failure pressure of the valve.…”

Mechanical behavior of strain sensors based on PEDOT:PSS and silver nanoparticles inks deposited on polymer substrate by inkjet printing

“…Ink deposition can be easily carried out through simple and low cost printing technologies such as inkjet printing. This technique is one of the latest methodologies developed for the implementation of electronic components, and recently it is becoming increasingly popular, as evidenced by its adoption in numerous scientific publications [15][16][17]. This technique offers the advantage of being fast and relatively inexpensive, therefore suitable especially for the rapid development of prototypes to be tested.…”

Scatter-limited conduction in printed platinum nanofilms

“…The active electronic inks that are deployed in such material printers range from insulators to metals and typically face a number of challenges to ensure that design features may be accurately reproduced whilst the electronic performance remains acceptable [3]. Popular metal inks generally comprise a suspension of nanoparticles which must be dried and sintered at high temperatures to achieve an acceptable resistivity for interconnect features [4][5][6].…”