Well-defined high resolution structures with excellent electrical conductivities are key components of almost every electronic device. Producing these by printing metal based conductive inks on polymer foils represents an important step forward towards the manufacturing of plastic electronic products on an industrial scale. The development of fast, efficient and inexpensive post-deposition sintering technologies for these materials is an important processing step to make this approach commercially viable. This review discusses the advances in alternative sintering approaches for conductive, metal containing inks, which can be processed by inkjet-printing processes. Each sintering approach is examined regarding its mechanism, its compatibility with commonly used materials in the field of flexible electronics, its compatibility with high-throughput manufacturing processes and its applicability to the production of flexible electronic devices.

No abstract

Atmospheric pressure argon plasma sintering of silver nanoparticle inks was investigated to improve the plasma sintering process in terms of sintering speed, substrate friendliness and technical complexity. Sintering times were reduced to several seconds while achieving similar conductivity values of above 10% compared to bulk silver. Sintering can be carried out under ambient conditions at specific locations without exposing the entire substrate. Plasma sintering at atmospheric pressure exhibits the capability to be used in roll-to-roll production processes

Interdependence between ink, substrate and sintering method on inkjet printed devices.

No abstract