Inkjet Fabrication of Copper Patterns for Flexible Electronics: Using Paper with Active Precoatings

Abstract

Low-cost solution-processing of highly conductive films is important for the expanding market of printed electronics. For roll-to-roll manufacturing, suitable flexible substrates and compatible postprocessing are essential. Here, custom-developed coated papers are demonstrated to facilitate the inkjet fabrication of high performance copper patterns. The patterns are fabricated in ambient conditions using water-based CuO dispersion and intense pulsed light (IPL) processing. Papers using a porous CaCO3 precoating, combined with an acidic mesoporous absorption coating, improve the effectiveness and reliability of the IPL process. The processing is realizable within 5 ms, using a single pulse of light. A resistivity of 3.1 ± 0.12 μΩ·cm is achieved with 400 μm wide conductors, corresponding to more than 50% of the conductivity of bulk copper. This is higher than previously reported results for IPL-processed copper.

Selective laser sintering of inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle inks on paper substrates to achieve highly conductive patterns

“…It is likely that the damage is due to the rapid heating, leading to evaporation of remaining solvent in the films. This is consistent with previous observations and conclusions of similar phenomena using flash sintering 35 . The observed damage was also found to be different for different samples, leading to the conclusion that there is a varying amount of solvent left after printing.…”

Inkjet printing and photonic sintering of silver and copper oxide nanoparticles for ultra-low-cost conductive patterns

“…On non-porous substrates, the ink remains wet and remains dark-brown after drying. 36 In comparison to other groups using a different printer, it seems that the drop distribution of the consumer inkjet printer creates a more uniform pattern that reduces the susceptibility to cracks along droplet borders. On porous media, we can achieve uniform and only slightly wider lines than designed.…”

“…,36 AFM images of some substrates and to estimate the pore size and their roughness are provided in the supplementary information. Inkjet printing of nanoparticles SEM images of silver NP ink (a) after drying without sintering and (b) after sintering on substrate P7.…”

Printing Conductive Nanomaterials for Flexible and Stretchable Electronics: A Review of Materials, Processes, and Applications

“…Paper‐based substrates have recently attracted increasing research and commercial interests for PE due to their natural abundance, light weight, renewability, mechanical flexibility, and nontoxicity over their counterparts . Coffee ring effect is often undesired but does exist during inkjet printing process.…”