Abstract
AbstractIn this work, microwave planar resonators are printed with silver nanoparticle inks using two printing technologies, inkjet printing and aerosol jet printing, on polyimide substrates. The microwave resonators used in this paper operate in the frequency band 5–21 GHz. The printing parameters, such as the number of printed layers of silver nanoparticle inks, drop spacing, and sintering time, were optimized to ensure repeatable and conductive test patterns. To improve the electrical conductivity of silver deposits, which are first dried using a hot plate or an oven, two complementary sintering methods are used: intense pulsed light (IPL) and laser sintering. This paper presents the results of different strategies for increasing the final quality factor of printed planar resonators and the trade-offs (sintering time versus final conductivity/unloaded Q) that can be reached. Improvement of the resonator unloaded quality factor (up to +55%) and of the equivalent electrical conductivity (up to 14.94 S/μm) at 14 GHz have been obtained thanks to these nonconventional sintering techniques. The total sintering durations of different combinations of sintering techniques (hot plate, oven, IPL, and laser) range from 960 to 90 min with a final conductivity from 14.94 to 7.1 S/μm at 14 GHz, respectively.
Highlights
In the past few years, several emerging technologies have been developed, such as inkjet printing (IJP), aerosol jet printing (AJP), screen printing, spray printing, nScrypt, and gravure printing. [1, 2]
To optimize the performances of microwave planar filters dedicated to demanding applications, such as aerospace and defence, we propose to focus on direct printing technologies with silver ink (IJP and AJP)
After several preliminary tests with intense pulsed light (IPL) sintering, it was deduced that distributing the energy of the lamp over several pulses avoids continuously heating the sample and an accumulation of heat that can severely damage the polymer substrate
Summary
In the past few years, several emerging technologies have been developed, such as inkjet printing (IJP), aerosol jet printing (AJP), screen printing, spray printing, nScrypt, and gravure printing. [1, 2]. Interesting research has been performed using technologies such as IJP and AJP based on the direct writing approach, allowing noncontact deposition [3] on rigid (glass, alumina, Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK), etc.) or flexible (polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide (PI), paper, etc.) substrates [4]. These technologies have become increasingly present in different fields (medical, photovoltaic, electronics, smart systems, aeronautics, etc.) [5]. IJP is a technology used for depositing thin layers on planar supports It is widely used in the field of printed electronics [7, 8]. Quick prototyping, versatility, and low cost, IJP technology is the most widely used printing technology in the industry [8, 9]
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