Elucidating the transfer dynamics of high-viscosity silver paste for laser-induced forward transfer of continuous line

Abstract

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT), as an innovative 3D direct-write method, has been increasingly applied for various material printing in many applications. Elucidating the transfer process of paste is crucial to manipulate the printing quality. In this work, the transfer dynamics of high-viscosity silver paste in LIFT of continuous line was systematically investigated based on the cumulative effect from images obtained over hundreds of laser pulses. The influences of process parameters, including the laser energy input (single pulse energy, repetition frequency, and scanning speed) and the thickness of paste film, on the bump height and expansion velocity of bump front were analyzed. With increasing the single pulse energy or repetition frequency, or decreasing the scanning speed or film thickness, the evolution of bump morphology and sputtering varies from just a tiny bump with no sputtering, to a moderate-sized bump with a small amount of sputtering and rebounding, and further to a large bump with intense sputtering and rebounding. A non-dimensional group in terms of Reynolds and Weber numbers was proposed to categorize different evolution regimes and claim the physical mechanism on LIFT of continuous line. When the Reynolds number is greater than 0.01 and the Weber number is greater than 0.1, the inertial effect is sufficient to resist the viscous and capillary effects, inducing the paste to bulge and transfer downwards. A moderate-sized bump with no visibly fragmented sputtering is desirable for the transfer of continuous grid lines. The forming status of grid lines can be predicted according to the behavior of paste transfer, and the predicted grid line state agrees well with the actual state. This can provide process and theoretical references for printing continuous grid lines with LIFT.