Hybrid structural electronics fabrication by combined SLA and metal printing

Abstract

A method is described where 3D electronic devices are fabricated using a hybrid printing approach which combines several steps: Top illumination stereolithography (SLA); Laser induced forward transfer (LIFT) printing of conductive materials; Placement of active and passive components and their electrical interconnection by a non-contact, metal LIFT process. By applying this approach, free-form 3D functional electronic structures could be manufactured by a single hybrid tool. The adhesion of LIFT printed metal droplets onto various organic substrates of interest for device fabrication was investigated. The results suggest two possible approaches for improved adhesion by either printing at elevated surface temperature or surface roughening by laser pre-treatment. The resulting track resistivities were found to be in the range of x5-10 higher than bulk copper resistivity. We present several exemplary printed devices with different complexities and functionalities as demonstrators of the proposed hybrid technology. 

A review on droplet-based 3D printing with piezoelectric micro-jet device

“…Main applications of 3D printing include rapid prototyping, rapid tooling, direct part production and part repairing of plastic, metal, ceramic and composite materials [7][8][9][10]. The 3D printing technology mainly include fused deposition modeling [11], stereolithography apparatus [12,13], selective laser sintering [14], direct metal deposition [15,16], and fabrication with droplet ejection [13,[17][18][19]. Among these methods, fabrication with droplet ejection is an essential method in industrial and academic research as its low-cost equipment, environment-friendly, and low-energy consumption.…”