Suitability of Copper Nitride as a Wiring Ink Sintered by Low-Energy Intense Pulsed Light Irradiation

Abstract

Copper nitride particles have a low decomposition temperature, they absorb light, and are oxidation-resistant, making them potentially useful for the development of novel wiring inks for printing circuit boards by means of intense pulsed light (IPL) sintering at low-energy. Here, we compared the thermal decomposition and light absorption of copper materials, including copper nitride (Cu3N), copper(I) oxide (Cu2O), or copper(II) oxide (CuO). Among the copper compounds examined, copper nitride had the second highest light absorbency and lowest decomposition temperature; therefore, we concluded that copper nitride was the most suitable material for producing a wiring ink that is sintered by means of IPL irradiation. Wiring inks containing copper nitride were compared with those of wiring inks containing copper nitride, copper(I) oxide, or copper(II) oxide, and copper conversion rate and sheet resistance were also determined. Under low-energy irradiation (8.3 J cm−2), copper nitride was converted to copper at the highest rate among the copper materials, and provided a sheet resistance of 0.506 Ω sq−1, indicating that copper nitride is indeed a candidate material for development as a wiring ink for low-energy intense pulsed light sintering-based printed circuit board production processes.

Photonic curing for innovative fabrication of flexible metal oxide optoelectronics

“…The high intesity enables localized elevated temperatures, while the short pulses ensure that the total energy imparted on the sample is small. Photonic curing has been successfully applied to sintering printed metal nanoparticle inks into conductive patterns on plastic substrates [5][6][7][8]. In this context, the strong light absorption by metal nanoparticle inks results in a rapid rise to high temperatures in the films.…”

Surveying the Synthesis, Optical Properties and Photocatalytic Activity of Cu3N Nanomaterials

“…The current synthesis methods usually involve the use of reactive nitrogen precursors, high pressure and temperature [26]. Synthesis techniques, such as thermal decomposition [27], electroplating [28], solvothermal [26], chemical vapor deposition (CVD) [29], radio-frequency (RF) and direct current (DC) magnetron reactive sputtering [30][31][32] have been employed for the synthesis of Cu 3 N thin films. For nanoparticle synthesis, several reports claim that solution-based synthesis approaches tend to offer a better way of controlling the morphology and properties of Cu 3 N nanoparticles [24,33] by carefully varying the synthesis conditions, i.e., time, temperature and precursors.…”

Solution Synthesis, Processing, and Applications of Semiconducting Nanomaterials

“…While many publications focus on synthesis and applications of solution-based nanomaterials, issues related to processing, e.g., solvent choice, surface compositions and ligands, particle–particle interaction, and deposition methods, are infrequently addressed. This Special Issue includes nine articles and one review, covering synthesis [1], novel processing [2,3,4,5], and a wide range of applications, such as solar cells [1,3,6], sensors [7], catalysis [8], and electronics [9,10].…”

“…Intense pulsed light (IPL) irradiation shows promise in rapid material processing that is compatible with roll-to-roll manufacturing [18]. Nakamura et al [2] synthesized Cu nitride nanoparticles as an ink and converted them to Cu wires using IPL processing. This approach allows the production of large quantities of printed circuit boards with less waste.…”