Laser sintering of inkjet-printed silver lines on glass and PET substrates

Abstract

In this study, the laser sintering of inkjet-printed silver lines was evaluated. Silver-nanoparticle ink and a drop-ondemand (DOD) inkjet printer were used for printing on glass and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates with various thicknesses. To sinter the printed silver nanoparticles, the silver layer printed on the transparent substrates was irradiated by focused CW laser beams that were incident normal to the substrates; the irradiation was carried out for various beam intensities and for various irradiation times. The electrical conductivity of the laser-sintered silver patterns was measured and compared with the conductivity of silver patterns sintered by using an oven. The increase in the temperature caused by laser irradiation was also calculated on the basis of the laser beam intensity, irradiation time, surface reflectivity, and thermophysical property of the substrate in order to estimate the increase in the electrical conductivity caused by laser sintering.