Investigation on high speed laser printing of silver nanoparticle inks on flexible substrates

Abstract The ever-increasing demand for more efficient, cost- and time-effective electronics required in production-grade technology, impels the research in the field of printed electronics. Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) technique meets the requirements for precise deposition and high resolution components, however further research has to be conducted in order to improve the process’ speed and reproducibility. In this work, laser printing of silver (Ag) nanoparticle lines on PEN substrate at high repetition rates (10–40 kHz) is introduced and an investigation on the factors that affect the printing results, including the experimental setup’s parameters and inks’ rheological characteristics, is conducted. Specifically, a high-speed imaging setup is employed in order to study the liquid bubble formation and jet expansion, for four Ag nanoparticle inks of different viscosities and four different repetition rates. At the same time, different values of donor-receiver distance and scanning step are applied, in order to succeed optimum lines. The results indicate that, for high repetition rates, best quality lines derive from high viscosity inks when the distance between the donor and the receiver is relatively small.