Investigation of the current carrying capacity for aerosol jet printed film

Abstract

Printed electronics is an emerging field in the electronics industry, where it has gain traction due to its low cost of production, environmentally friendly and flexibility. In less than a decade, billions of dollars have been spent on this field to conduct research and investigation of its usability comparing it against traditional methods. Yet, most studies mainly focus on investigating the mechanical properties and environmental stresses on the printed film. In addition, most application produced are of low current carrying capacity. Hence, this project will focus and study on assessing the maximum current carrying capacity of the printed film. In fact, without proper knowledge of the printed film’s current carrying capacity, it will be of limited use. In this project, several designs and conditions of the printed film will be printed using Aerosol Jet Printer. The printed films are then subjected to various tests such as film thickness, resistance test, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectrometer, field emission scanning electron microscope, thermal analysis and current test. Through these tests, it is found that increasing the layers and width, and different substrate used would drastically improve the current carrying capacity of the printed film. With this investigation, it will be beneficial for researchers and could lead to inculcating the printed electronics technology to go beyond low current carrying capacity applications.