Drops forming in inkjet printing of flexible electronic circuits

Abstract

PurposeThis paper aims to study drop formation in piezoelectric industrial printheads during the inkjet printing processes. It presents how the piezoelectric printhead forms drops of nanoparticle ink and how the problems with different values of drop parameters may influence the printed pattern’ defects and quality.Design/methodology/approachA piezoelectric printhead with 128 nozzles was activated to operate in a controlled manner, and the droplets ejected from the nozzles were observed during falling and analysed in the printview system. The effect of varying the values of drop parameters on print quality and pattern defects has been analysed and discussed.FindingsThe obtained results allow the identification of the sources of the technological problems in obtaining repeatable performance drops with the desired properties, and indicate the importance of choosing the appropriate individually chosen strategy of controlling the printing for each individual application to get good-quality and free-from-defects patterns.Research limitations/implicationsBecause of the chosen research method (arbitrary selected printhead type and ink manufacturer), this study could have limited universality. Authors encourage the study of other kinds of piezoelectric heads or other conductive inks.Practical implicationsThis study includes practically useful applications for users to improve the inkjet print quality.Originality/valueThis study presents results of original empirical research works on problems of the drops forming in the inkjet printing process, and finally, it identifies problems that must be resolved to disseminate this technology.