Prediction of Electrical Performance and Print Geometry for Inkjet Additive Circuits via Statistical Modeling

In this paper, statistical models are developed for the prediction of Inkjet printed structures in regards to their physical and electrical characteristics. Additive printed electronics are constantly evolving and improving by the way they are manufactured. Immense interest is shown due to number of reasons, including the reduced time to manufacture from design stage and the possibilities in the fabrication of various electronic circuits. Different techniques have recently been explored that are extremely cost-effective and can use different types of materials and substrates. Among those, Inkjet, which has been established as a reliable technique in office environment setting, recently started gaining attraction in printed electronics for rapid prototype development. The technique can easily be integrated in current additive manufacturing processes for mass-scale up and roll-to-roll process. However, to deposit functional materials such as metal Nanoparticle inks, Inkjet requires control of certain parameters for fine droplet ejection, thus resulting in fine print structures. With the development of several metal functional inks, it results in time-consuming process that is crucial to avoid in a manufacturing facility. Most commonly used inks that are utilized via Inkjet appears to be either Silver or Copper with Nanoparticle formulations, but recent developments have shown promising interest in particle-free formulations of ink, with low processing temperatures and that can help avoid blockage of Inkjet nozzles. This paper introduces Inkjet technology with various inks and their process-property relationships against their post-print parameters. A design-of-experiments (DOE) matrix is developed for the print parameters space for help in prediction of certain physical and electrical characteristics before starting the print process. The authors’ final aim is to have statistical models that can be used to achieve the desired print width and desired electrical properties.