Efficient, low-temperature production of 3D conducting objects
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Categories |
3D Printing, Nanoparticles, Coatings, Composites, Nano Materials and Nano Structures, Printed electronics |
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Development Stage |
Proof of concept/ |
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Patent Status |
PCT application submitted |
The Field
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Digital printing is used to produce conductive patterns as electrodes for devices, such as sensors and displays.
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Printed electronics involves producing conducting patterns by printing nanoparticles and metal precursors, mainly silver inks.
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Currently, achieving a high aspect ratio of inkjet-printed conductive patterns has been hindered by problems related to the flow of the ink on the substrate due to its low viscosity or the difficulty in achieving percolation paths within the printed 3D object.
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There is a need for inks to enable rapid fabrication of conductive patterns with high aspect ratio.
Our Innovation
New inks and processes for producing 3D conductive structures by printing inks composed of dispersed silver nanoparticles and UV curable emulsion droplets or by printing porous structures that are filled with conductive materials, followed by a simple, low-temperature method of sintering silver nanoparticles.
Schematic representation of inkjet printing the new emulsion-nanoparticles ink
A side view of printed dots, each dot being composed of a different number of printed individual droplets.
Note that the height of each dot increases with the increase in number of printed layers.
Conductive object formed by DLP printing oil in water emulsion
Key Features
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Once the structure is printed and polymerized, the metal source is rendered continuous and electrically conductive by low temperature sintering or chemical reduction in order to transform the structure into a conductive object.
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The method is suitable for printing lines with high aspect ratios and also to print 3D conductive objects.
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The accumulative manufacturing process is conducted by a UV polymerization process while various properties of the structure can be tailored by proper selection of the components.
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Inks are suitable for inkjet and Digital Light Processing printing.
Development Milestones
Present research is aimed at increasing the conductivity of the printed patterns and objects.
The Opportunity
New materials and concepts for accumulative manufacturing
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