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This paper reports on the successful fabrication of a multilayered hybrid printed circuit board (PCB) for applications in the consumer electronics products, medical technologies, and military equipment. The PCB was fabricated by screen-printing silver (Ag) flake ink, as metallization layer, and UV acrylic-based ink, as dielectric layer, on different substrates such as paper, polyethylene terephthalate, and glass. Traditional electronic components were attached onto the printed pads to create the multilayered hybrid PCB. The feasibility of the hybrid PCB was demonstrated by integrating an embedded microcontroller to drive an liquid-crystal display (160 × 100 pixels). In addition, the amount of the ink spreading after printing, the effect of bending on the printed lines, and the effect of the roughness of the substrates on the resistance of the printed lines was investigated. It was observed that the resistance of the lines increased by ≈1.8%, after 10 000 cycles of bending, and the lowest resistance of 1.06 was measured for the 600 μm printed lines on paper, which had a roughness of 0.175 μm. The advantage of fabricating PCBs on flexible substrates is the ability to fold and place the boards on nearly any platform or to conform to any irregular surface, whereas the additive properties of printing processes allow for a faster fabrication process, while simultaneously producing less material waste in comparison with the traditional subtractive processes. The results obtained show the promising potential of employing screen printing process for the fabrication of flexible and light-weight hybrid PCBs.

Please cite this article in press as: S. Emamian, et al., Gravure printed flexible surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate for detection of 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) vapor, Sens. Actuators B: Chem. (2014), http://dx. a b s t r a c tAn efficient surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) substrate was successfully fabricated by gravure printing a thin film of silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) ink, with average particle size of 150 nm, on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) sheet. The feasibility of the printed SERS substrate for detecting explosive organic compounds such as 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), in vapor phase, was investigated. The SERS based response of the printed substrate demonstrated an enhancement factor of four in the intensity of the Raman signal of DNT vapor when compared to target molecules adsorbed on bare PET. An 85% decrease in the intensity of the Raman spectrum was also observed as the temperature increased from 25 • C to 65 • C. The results obtained show the efficiency of the gravure printed SERS substrate to be used in applications for the detection of explosive organic compounds.

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A flexible three electrode electrochemical sensor was successfully screen printed on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film. Silver (Ag) ink, silver/silver chloride (Ag/AgCl) ink and carbon ink was used for the counter, reference and working electrodes, respectively. The feasibility of the fully printed sensor for detecting very low concentrations of toxic heavy metal ions was demonstrated. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) response of the printed sensor revealed a very high sensitivity at nano molar (nM) concentration levels of lead nitrate (Pb(NO3)2) and cadmium nitrate (Cd(NO3)2). A percentage change of 18 %, in impedance, was observed for the 1 nM concentration of Pb(NO3)2 when compared with DI water. The response of the electrochemical sensor is analyzed and presented in this paper.