Inkjet Printable Polydimethylsiloxane for All-Inkjet-Printed Multilayered Soft Electrical Applications

Abstract

In recent years, additive manufacturing of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) has gained interest for the development of soft electronics. To build complex electrical devices, fabrication of multilayered structures is required. We propose here a straightforward digital printing fabrication process of silicone rubber-based, multilayered electronics. An inkjet-printable PDMS solution was developed for the digital patterning of elastomeric structures. The silicone ink was used together with a highly conductive silver nanoparticle (Ag NP) ink for the fabrication of all-inkjet-printed multilayered electrical devices. The application of the multilayered circuit board was successful. The sheet resistances were below 0.3 Ω/□, and the conductive layer thickness was less than 1 μm. The electrical insulation between the conductive layers was done by printing a 20−25 μm-thick dielectric PDMS layer selectively on top of the bottommost conductive layer.

Fiber‐Optic Photoacoustic Generator Realized by Inkjet‐Printing of CNT‐PDMS Composites on Fiber End Faces

“…For the printing tests, the self‐developed inks were taken out of the refrigerator, the required amount was filled into the printer cartridge, and then stored again in the refrigerator at about 0 °C. A significant improvement of ink stability compared to previous works can be achieved, which reported a stability of PDMS inks of 2 h [ 73 ] and most recently a stability of 2 d. [ 74 ] The curing time of these inks does not exceed that of untreated PDMS.…”

3D Printing of Multilayered and Multimaterial Electronics: A Review

“…have used inkjet printing technology to fabricate a stretchable multilayered circuit using silver nanoparticle ink for the conducting layers and PDMS ink for the dielectric layers ( Figure a). [ 192 ] As PDMS is hydrophobic, they have used intermediate surface treatment, printing, andsintering treatment for each layer to ensure that all the inks can be deposited nicely onto the underlying layers. This developed printing methodology has great potential for any biocompatible or skin‐conformable application, where selective additive patterning of silicones is desirable.…”

“…Reproduced with permission. [ 192 ] Copyright 2020, American Chemical Society. b) Various MLMM circuits using multimaterial inkjet printing techniques.…”

Classifications and Applications of Inkjet Printing Technology: A Review

“…For example, Ag nanowires and nanoparticles were printed for flexible and stretchable electronics [253]- [257]. Mikkonen et al [258] demonstrated an all-inkjet-printed electrical circuit device (Fig. 18).…”

“…Both the conductive (Ag nanoparticles) and dielectric (polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)) materials were jetted by inkjet printing. PDMS was used as a dielectric between the conductive tracks [258]. Wang et al [259] developed an all-inkjet-printed flexible proximity sensor (Fig.…”