Innovative High Resolution Electro-Static printing of Multifunctional Materials.

ended

The EU is well placed to exploit printed electronic technologies to create greater economic and social benefits for the EU, but only if we are able to commercialise innovative technologies created within the EU. Ink jet printing technologies are at the forefront of printed electronic developments. However, Ink jet printing has only been able to achieve a resolution of >=10um and the viscosity of printable inks is limited to <40 centipoise, this further limits the solids content of inks to <30-Vol% and the size of the nano-fillers to <50nm typically. These factors limit the range of functional inks that can be printed as well as the resolution and final properties of the resultant printed/sintered structures and components. The HI-RESPONSE project is based on highly innovative, patented Electro-static printing technology (ESJET) that has already been proven on TRL 4 to print to a resolution of 1um and be able to print inks with a viscosity of up to 40.000 cP. The resultant printed/sintered structures will therefore be able to achieve a high resolution and increase final component properties through enabling the printing of highly filled nano-inks and functional organic materials. This technology will be further developed to TRL 6 within the project to allow for the design and assembly of a multi-head system that can achieve resolution, speeds and cost that far surpassed that of current ink-jet systems. The resultant system will be demonstrated at TRL 6 for a wide range of materials, including: nano-Cu and nano-ceramic filled inks and organic polymers. Each of these materials will be printed to create components specifically defined and specified by the industrial organisations within the consortium: Infineon, Ficosa, Piher (Meggitt) and Zytronic. The specific end-user defined applications are: Automotive aerials and sensors, metal meshed for OLED and touch screens, conductive through silicon vias and mechanical strengthening ribs for thin Si-wafers.