Forming Silver Conductive Thick Films by Microwave Heating

Abstract

This study investigated a microwave‐assisted processing route for the synthesis of conductive thick films on dielectric substrates starting from silver (Ag) and a glass frit powder mixture paste. A single mode microwave (2.45 GHz) applicator was used to reduce the processing time and improve the energy efficiency compared with conventional heating. The microstructures of the Ag‐based conductive thick films that were fired using conventional and microwave heating were observed. After 300 s of microwave treatment, the shrinkage of the microwave‐fired Ag conductive thick films was similar to the conventionally processed films at 580°C for 30 min. The results suggested that the drastic reduction of the substrate temperature and the rapid processing time were significant advantages because both helped to minimize the Ag diffusion into the glass, thus reducing the unwanted yellowing phenomena.

Microwave assisted low temperature encapsulation of Ag films by Cu reactions using Ag–Cu alloy structures

“…This is because the microwave penetration depths (skin depth) for most metals range only a few nanometers. Literature survey reveals that bulk penetration depths for copper, silver and gold range from 1.3 to 1.6 mm at 2.45 GHz [6]. Microwave heating also offers significant advantages over conventional heating which include: (a) lower processing temperatures, (b) time and energy savings, and (c) improved electrical properties.…”

Heat transfer in microwave heating

“…[114][115][116][117][118][119] The typical packages include CFDTD (PSU version, Pennsylvania) 120 and Concerto 7.0 (Vector Fields, U.K.). [121][122][123] These packages perform the simulation quickly while the corresponding computational process cannot be visualized. To guarantee the simulation results, instead of using these available packages, a specific computational code will be developed using Mathematica 7.0 (Wolfram Research of Champaign, Illinois) in this part of research.…”