Development of coating layer for 3D printed electronics

Abstract

Printed electronics has gained a reputation in Integrated Circuit (IC)-based electronics over silicon-based IC technology in IC manufacturing as it is cheaper and environmentally friendly. However, the conductors tend to oxidize in the ambient environment. Hence, a proper insulating layer over the conducting layer is required. In this project, polyimide dielectric ink and UV dielectric ink will be printed separately over silver nanoparticles layer on polyimide substrate using Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) Technique. AJP is a contactless additive manufacturing technique that uses nitrogen gas as secondary sheath gas to focus the flow of functional ink onto the substrate. Wet contact angle measurement will be done first, followed by printing coupons. Measurement such as resistivity test, film characterization, and scanning electrons microscope analysis will be carried out next to compare the two dielectric inks. Through these measurements, it is found that at least 4 layers of printing are required to have enough resistance on the dielectric layer. Lastly, the polyimide dielectric layer will be printed on the electrodes for prototyping.