Digital printing techniques have emerged as cost-effective, low-waste methods for fabricating conductive elements on thin-film substrates. Additive manufacturing by inkjet and screen printing is especially attractive for rapid prototyping and production of electrostatic transducers. However, achieving reliable, highly conducting electrodes for thin-film printed electronics can be challenging. Silver-based nanoparticle inks are often preferred for inkjet-printed electrodes due to their improved printability and sintering temperatures that are compatible with heat-sensitive polymer substrates. Yet, their high volatile content makes them sensitive to suboptimal fabrication processes, which can compromise final device performance. This work evaluates inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle electrodes as alternatives to screen-printed electrodes for electrostatic transducer fabrication. Different spacing between droplets is explored for drop-on-demand inkjet-printing of conductive traces on polyimide and polyester substrates. Up to a 70% increase in their electrical conductivity is achieved by tuning the droplet spacing parameter. Finally, the relative permittivity of the dielectric substrates is measured across a pair of inkjet-printed electrodes. By comparing resistivity and permittivity results from different printing settings, droplet arrays deposited with a 0.11 mm spacing are identified as the most effective in minimizing the issues faced by inkjet-printed electrodes.

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Influence of Digital Printing Parameters and Processes on Thin-Film Electrodes for Flexible Electrostatic Transducers

  • Chiara Scagliarini,
  • Rocco Vertechy

摘要

Digital printing techniques have emerged as cost-effective, low-waste methods for fabricating conductive elements on thin-film substrates. Additive manufacturing by inkjet and screen printing is especially attractive for rapid prototyping and production of electrostatic transducers. However, achieving reliable, highly conducting electrodes for thin-film printed electronics can be challenging. Silver-based nanoparticle inks are often preferred for inkjet-printed electrodes due to their improved printability and sintering temperatures that are compatible with heat-sensitive polymer substrates. Yet, their high volatile content makes them sensitive to suboptimal fabrication processes, which can compromise final device performance. This work evaluates inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle electrodes as alternatives to screen-printed electrodes for electrostatic transducer fabrication. Different spacing between droplets is explored for drop-on-demand inkjet-printing of conductive traces on polyimide and polyester substrates. Up to a 70% increase in their electrical conductivity is achieved by tuning the droplet spacing parameter. Finally, the relative permittivity of the dielectric substrates is measured across a pair of inkjet-printed electrodes. By comparing resistivity and permittivity results from different printing settings, droplet arrays deposited with a 0.11 mm spacing are identified as the most effective in minimizing the issues faced by inkjet-printed electrodes.