Understanding effects of printhead geometry in aerosol jet printing

Abstract

Aerosol jet printing offers a versatile, high-resolution digital patterning capability broadly relevant to flexible and printed electronic systems. Despite its promise and numerous demonstrations, the theoretical principles driving process outputs have not been thoroughly explored. Here a custom-built, modular printing system is developed to provide a head-to-head comparison of two print nozzle geometries to better understand the technology. Print resolution data from a range of process parameters are analyzed using a support vector machine framework. The linear deposition rate is identified as a key variable, which can confound careful studies of printing performance. Taking this into account, a clear difference is observed between the printheads, corresponding to a difference in resolution of 57% ± 11% under typical conditions. Models to understand differences in aerodynamic and mass transport effects identify enhanced drying within a large diameter printhead as a likely cause of this difference. Overall, this study provides improved understanding of the aerosol jet printing process, including valuable insight to inform process optimization, robust data analysis, ink formulation, and printer geometric design.