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Laser sintering analyzed for inkjet-printed nanoparticles, MOD inks on flexible polymeric film; study implements spot and line laser optics to demonstrate potential for efficient sintering methodology

October 14, 2024 (press release) –

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Fraunhofer Institute for Electronic Nano Systems ENAS, 09126 Chemnitz, Germany

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Hamamatsu Photonics Deutschland GmbH, 82211 Herrsching am Ammersee, Germany

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Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Polymers 2024, 16(20), 2896; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym16202896 (registering DOI)

Submission received: 6 September 2024 / Accepted: 11 October 2024 /

(This article belongs to the Special IssuePolymer Thin Films and Their Applications)

Abstract

The implementation of the laser sintering for inkjet-printed nanoparticles and metal organic decomposition (MOD) inks on a flexible polymeric film has been analyzed in detail. A novel approach by implementing, next to a commonly 3.2 mm diameter spot laser optic, a line laser optic with a laser beam area of 2 mm × 80 mm, demonstrates the high potential of selective laser sintering to proceed towards a fast and efficient sintering methodology in printed electronics. In this work, a multiplicity of laser parameters, primary the laser speed and the laser power, have been altered systematically to identify an optimal process window for each ink and to convert the dried and non-conductive patterns into conductive and functional silver structures. For each ink, as well as for the two laser optics, a suitable laser parameter set has been found, where a conductivity without any damage to the substrate or silver layer could be achieved. In doing so, the margin of the laser speed for both optics is ranging in between 50 mm/s and 100 mm/s, which is compatible with common inkjet printing speeds and facilitates an in-line laser sintering approach. Considering the laser power, the typical parameter range for the spot laser lays in between 10 W and 50 W, whereas for the line optics the full laser power of 200 W had to be applied. One of the nanoparticle silver inks exhibits, especially for the line laser optic, a conductivity of up to 2.22 × 107 S‧m−1, corresponding to 36% of bulk silver within a few seconds of sintering duration. Both laser sintering approaches together present a remarkable facility to use the laser either as a digital tool for sintering of defined areas by means of a spot beam or to efficiently sinter larger areas by means of a line beam. With this, the utilization of a laser sintering methodology was successfully validated as a promising approach for converting a variety of inkjet-printed silver patterns on a flexible polymeric substrate into functionalized conductive silver layers for` applications in the field of printed electronics.

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