Press Release

Breakthrough in metal ink cure: room temperature on cheap substrates

As analysts IDTechEx is in the fortunate position to see the constant developments in materials and processes in printed electronics. Occasionally we see breakthroughs which significantly overcome barriers to adoption. Here is an example of that. IDTechEx recently visited Novacentrix in Austin, Texas, to learn of their room temperature cure process.

The biggest opportunity for printed electronic devices is when devices can be made on flexible, cheap substrates. However, this is not currently associated with having the best performance devices, which are usually made on more expensive substrates which can withstand the cure temperatures involved to make the optimal device.

For example, metal flake conductors have been used on substrates such as glass or polyimide which can tolerate the high temperatures required to remove the polymer solution and leave just the metal conductive trace. Over the last ten years there has been considerable development of the thermal treatment of inks, allowing lower cure temperatures so that cheaper substrates can be used.

Developments have come from companies such as Parelec, who use a conductive solution polymer and NanoMas Technology, which uses genuine nano particles of silver in ink which increases their surface area in the solution, sharply lowering the melting point, in addition to many other companies. The conductivity at lower cure temperatures is adequate for some applications, but is still in the range of 120 to 250 degrees Celsius meaning cheap polyester film and paper cannot be used without warping in the cure ovens. Even at those temperatures, unless the time of exposure is prolonged the conductivity is not good enough for all applications, and so companies are also using other technologies such as electroplating of pure metal to printed 'seed' lines, which is a two stage process.