Optimizing manufacturing process of printed electronics

Printed electronics generally refers to the creation of electronic functionality, e.g. conducting circuitry, electrical components, by means of conventional printing techniques on common media such as plastics and paper. The main benefit of printed electronics is the simplified fabrication process, because of the elimination of the complex photolithography process. This means lower cost and shorter cycle time. However, several challenges must still be addressed, such as reliability, electrical performance and peripheral interfacing. Hereby peripheral interfacing was addressed, in particular the manufacturing process of the printed interconnects was studied. The study was conducted following the 2(7–4) fractional factorial design of experiment (DOE) method. Experimental parameters were curing temperature, curing time, pad thickness, pad sizes, solder alloys, cleaning time and number of reflows. Results of the study include effects of the parameters on shear strength of the printed interconnects and the recommendation of values to best employ.