Printed Electronics

Inkjet catalyst printing and electroless copper deposition for low-cost patterned microwave passive devices on paper

“…[1][2][3][4] Reports of inkjet-printed metalized devices on flexible substrates range from antennas to sensors to thin film transistors to RFID tags. [1,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The patterned metallization of substrates using inkjet printing is commonly conducted with inks comprised of a dispersion of metallic nanoparticles within a carrier fluid tailored to achieve a desired viscosity and wetting behavior for a particular substrate.…”

“…[1,[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] The patterned metallization of substrates using inkjet printing is commonly conducted with inks comprised of a dispersion of metallic nanoparticles within a carrier fluid tailored to achieve a desired viscosity and wetting behavior for a particular substrate. [1][2][3][4] Coatings on the metallic nanoparticles are used to ensure that the nanoparticles remain well dispersed in the ink. [1][2][3] After inkjet printing, however, a thermal treatment is needed to remove such coatings and to allow for nanoparticle necking, so as to yield patterned metallic films of desired electrical conductivity.…”

“…[1][2][3][4] Coatings on the metallic nanoparticles are used to ensure that the nanoparticles remain well dispersed in the ink. [1][2][3] After inkjet printing, however, a thermal treatment is needed to remove such coatings and to allow for nanoparticle necking, so as to yield patterned metallic films of desired electrical conductivity. [1,3,10,15,16] Except for the case of gold, such thermal treatments in air can result in significant oxidation of the metallic nanoparticles, particularly for relatively inexpensive non-noble metals, such as copper.…”