We propose a mechanism for reverse-offset printing based on a mathematical model. In reverse-offset printing, high resolution is achieved by patterning a coated, thin ink film with an intaglio-patterned cliché. By using the relationships among the ink blanket adhesion strength, the ink cliché adhesion strength, and the ink cohesion strength, a criterion for successful patterning is derived. We found that there is a printing window in the ink blanket adhesion strength that depends on the shear strength of the ink film and the dimensions of the pattern. The printing window diminishes as the line width decreases, resulting in a minimum printable line width. The proposed mechanism was verified by printing patterns with various shapes and dimensions.
Offset printing processes are promising candidates for producing printed electronics due to their capacity for fine patterning and suitability for mass production. To print high-resolution patterns with good overlay using offset printing, the velocities of two contact surfaces, which ink is transferred between, should be synchronized perfectly. However, an exact velocity of the contact surfaces is unknown due to several imperfections, including tolerances, blanket swelling, and velocity ripple, which prevents the system from being operated in the synchronized condition. In this paper, a novel method of measurement based on the sticking model of friction force was proposed to determine the best synchronized condition, i.e., the condition in which the rate of synchronization error is minimized. It was verified by experiment that the friction force can accurately represent the rate of synchronization error. Based on the measurement results of the synchronization error, the allowable margin of synchronization error when printing high-resolution patterns was investigated experimentally using reverse offset printing. There is a region where the patterning performance is unchanged even though the synchronization error is varied, and this may be viewed as indirect evidence that printability performance is secured when there is no slip at the contact interface. To understand what happens at the contact surfaces during ink transfer, the deformation model of the blanket's surface was developed. The model estimates how much deformation on the blanket's surface can be borne by the synchronization error when there is no slip at the contact interface. In addition, the model shows that the synchronization error results in scale variation in the machine direction (MD), which means that the printing registration in the MD can be adjusted actively by controlling the synchronization if there is a sufficient margin of synchronization error to guarantee printability. The effect of synchronization on the printing registration was verified experimentally using gravure offset printing. The variations in synchronization result in the differences in the MD scale, and the measured MD scale matches exactly with the modeled MD scale.
Recently, highly flexible conductive features have been widely demanded for the development of various electronic applications, such as foldable displays, deformable lighting, disposable sensors, and flexible batteries. Herein, we report for the first time a selective photonic sintering-derived, highly reliable patterning approach for creating extremely flexible carbon nanotube (CNT)/silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) composite electrodes that can tolerate severe bending (20 000 cycles at a bending radius of 1 mm). The incorporation of CNTs into a Ag NP film can enhance not only the mechanical stability of electrodes but also the photonic-sintering efficiency when the composite is irradiated by intense pulsed light (IPL). Composite electrodes were patterned on various plastic substrates by a three-step process comprising coating, selective IPL irradiation, and wiping. A composite film selectively exposed to IPL could not be easily wiped from the substrate, because interfusion induced strong adhesion to the underlying polymer substrate. In contrast, a nonirradiated film adhered weakly to the substrate and was easily removed, enabling highly flexible patterned electrodes. The potential of our flexible electrode patterns was clearly demonstrated by fabricating a light-emitting diode circuit and a flexible transparent heater with unimpaired functionality under bending, rolling, and folding.
The touchscreen sensor is one of the most innovative parts of modern electronic devices. Transparent conductive materials such as indium-tin oxide, silver nanowire, carbon nanotube, and metal mesh are used for the capacitance-sensing electrodes of touchscreen sensors. For patterning, most transparent conductive materials require a conventional patterning process of thin-film deposition or coating, photolithography, and etching to form sensing electrodes, and additional fabrication processes for routing electrodes. Printing techniques, however, can simplify the fabrication process of touchscreen sensors. Especially, reverse-offset printing can implement an ultra-fine pattern of even less than 1μm, and an excellent surface quality, regardless of the pattern size. In this paper, the fabrication process of a 6.5-inch single-layer metal-mesh touchscreen sensor printed on a transparent plastic film is described. Using silver nanoparticle ink, the sensing and routing electrodes are printed at once in a single layer using the reverse-offset-printing technique.
In printed electronics technology, the overlay accuracy of printed patterns is a very important issue when applying printing technology to the production of electric devices. In order to achieve accurate positioning of the printed patterns, this study proposes a novel precision reverse offset printing system. Furthermore, the study evaluates the effects of synchronization and printing force on position errors of the printed patterns, and presents methods of controlling synchronization and printing force so as to eliminate positional errors caused by the above-mentioned reasons. Finally, the printing position repeatability of 0.40 μm and 0.32 μm (x and y direction, respectively) at a sigma level is obtained over the dimension of 100 mm under repeated printing tests with identical printing conditions.
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