Towards single-pass plasma sintering: temperature influence of atmospheric pressure plasma sintering of silver nanoparticle ink

Progress of alternative sintering approaches of inkjet-printed metal inks and their application for manufacturing of flexible electronic devices

“…Wünscher et al investigated the employment of a cold (<60 C) atmospheric pressure plasma sintering (APPS) tool for different Ag NP inks on PEN foil. 135 A conductivity of up to 20% of bulk Ag was reached aer a single pass with a Fig. 133,134,136 In subsequent work, an increasing temperature for both, plasma temperature (#200 C) and substrate temperature (#110 C) proved to be more effective in terms of sintering time and achievable conductivity for both processes, low-pressure and atmospheric-pressure plasma sintering.…”

“…133,134,136 In subsequent work, an increasing temperature for both, plasma temperature (#200 C) and substrate temperature (#110 C) proved to be more effective in terms of sintering time and achievable conductivity for both processes, low-pressure and atmospheric-pressure plasma sintering. 134,135 nitrogen plasma torch at a speed of 20 mm s À1 on PEN foil. 7 Photographs of the process of single pass plasma sintering using an atmospheric pressure plasma tool (top), cross-sectional scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images of a Ag NP ink after printing and after single pass plasma sintering (bottom).…”

Atmospheric pressure plasmas for surface modification of flexible and printed electronic devices: A review

“…As mentioned in the above section, inkjet printing, using conductive precursor materials like metal nanoparticle inks, has become one of the most important processes in manufacturing contacts and wires for flexible printed electronic devices [54][55][56]. Generally, metal nanoparticles are dispersed in organic compounds in order to prevent agglomeration in the solvent and to improve processing.…”

“…For optimization of the sintering process, S. Wünscher et al [54] reported the combination of APP sintering and a mild thermal sintering of silver ink containing 20 wt% of silver nanoparticles on polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) substrate. This method decreased the total sintering time and resistivity significantly and represents an important step toward a rollto-roll technology.…”

Controllable synthesis and sintering of silver nanoparticles for inkjet-printed flexible electronics

“…Currently, the most commonly used sintering approach is to decompose the capped molecules on nanoparticle surfaces under high temperature and trigger electrical conductivity, wherein the sintering temperatures are typically above 200 °C, which are not compatible with the most flexible polymer substrate due to their low glass-transition temperatures [11][12][13]. Besides the thermal sintering, some other methods have also been M A N U S C R I P T A C C E P T E D ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT 4 exploited for this purpose, such as microwave [8], laser radiation [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21], plasma [22], electrical [23] and photonic sintering [24,25]. These methods could be used to fabricate conductive tracks or sinters these conductive materials selectively without affecting the substrate.…”