Conceptional design of nano-particulate ITO inks for inkjet printing of electron devices

Abstract

This manuscript presents the conceptional design of indium tin oxide inkjet inks for the manufacture of electron devices. For this purpose, the process window of the printer used is identified and the inks are conceived to meet the requirements. The nano-particles are effectively stabilized in different dispersion media. The rheological, the wetting and the drying behavior of the inks are adapted to the inkjet process and the substrates to be coated. To assemble a field effect transistor (FET), the most suitable ink is chosen and source and drain contacts are printed. In the device, a nano-particulate ZnO layer acts as semiconducting layer and the gate electrode as well as the dielectric layer is formed by a thermally oxidized silicon wafer. The electron device assembled shows the typical FET characteristic proving its functionality

Functional Metal Oxide Ink Systems for Drop-on-Demand Printed Thin-Film Transistors

“…Indium tin oxide (ITO) is one of the most noted oxide materials for the printed electrode and channel layer fabricated by both the nanoparticle-based and precursor-based ink system. , In the case of ref , ITO electrodes were printed by using a nanoparticle-based ink system, and high printing quality was achieved through optimization of the Z value, solids loading, particle size, and wetting behavior of ink. In the case of ref , a veryy dense and smooth ITO film was fabricated due to the high homogeneity of the precursor solution and amorphous state of the ITO film (Figure ).…”

“…In the case of ref , a veryy dense and smooth ITO film was fabricated due to the high homogeneity of the precursor solution and amorphous state of the ITO film (Figure ). However, the study of there are not as many studies on the printed ITO electrode as on a printed metal electrode such as Ag, mainly because of the high annealing temperature (over 400 °C) and high sheet resistance compared with those of metal. ,− To remove organic residue and obtain a high carrier concentration, a high annealing temperature is required for ITO layer fabrication on the basis of whether it is a nanoparticle-based or precursor-based ink system. Tue et al applied a solution combustion synthesis process to the printed ITO layer and fabricated ITO layer at an annealing temperature of 250 °C, which exhibited a low resistivity of 4.2 × 10 –4 Ω·cm.…”

Ionic Liquid-Assisted Ink for Inkjet-Printed Indium Tin Oxide Transparent and Conductive Thin Films

“…However, the expensive sputtering equipment and low material utilization result in an extremely high production cost of ITO thin films, which limits its wide applications . In recent years, the inkjet printing technology has received much attention and has been widely used to fabricate many types of optoelectronic devices, including quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs), thin-film transistors, and thin-film solar cells. − Compared with the conventional sputtering method, drop-on-demand inkjet printing is more suitable for large-area and rapid fabrication of ITO thin films. − More importantly, inkjet printing has an extremely high material utilization, especially for rare and expensive indium, which is much higher than those of vacuum-based deposition approaches and the spin-coated solution approach. Therefore, inkjet printing offers a high potential to lower the manufacturing cost and material cost of ITO thin films.…”

Elimination of Coffee-Ring Formation by Humidity Cycling: A Numerical Study

“…For this reason, there are new methods of ring suppression being developed. These include the use of multicomponent liquids, ,− , altering the geometry of the substrate, ,− acoustic suppression, and humidity cycling. , The latter is the focus of the present work.…”