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Title: Impact of pulse thermal processing on the properties of inkjet printed metal and flexible sensors

Journal Article · · ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1149/2.0161504jss· OSTI ID:1185477
 [1];  [1];  [1]
  1. Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)

In this paper, we report on the low temperature processing of environmental sensors employing pulse thermal processing (PTP) technique to define a path toward flexible sensor technology on plastic, paper, and fabric substrates. Inkjet printing and pulse thermal processing technique were used to realize mask-less, additive integration of low-cost sensors on polymeric substrates with specific focus on temperature, humidity, and strain sensors. The printed metal line performance was evaluated in terms of the electrical conductivity characteristics as a function of post-deposition thermal processing conditions. The PTP processed Ag metal lines exhibited high conductivity with metal sheet resistance values below 100 mΩ/{whitesquare} using a pulse width as short as 250 μs. The flexible temperature and relative humidity sensors were defined on flexible polyimide substrates by direct printing of Ag metal structures. The printed resistive temperature sensor and capacitive humidity sensor were characterized for their sensitivity with focus on future smart-building applications. Strain gauges were printed on polyimide substrate to determine the mechanical properties of the silver nanoparticle films. Finally, the observed electrical properties of the printed metal lines and the sensitivity of the flexible sensors show promise for the realization of a high performance print-on-demand technology exploiting low thermal-budget PTP technique.

Research Organization:
Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), Energy Efficiency Office. Building Technologies Office; USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program
Grant/Contract Number:
AC05-00OR22725
OSTI ID:
1185477
Journal Information:
ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology, Vol. 4, Issue 4; ISSN 2162-8769
Publisher:
Electrochemical SocietyCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 10 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Cited By (2)

A review of fault detection and diagnostics methods for building systems journal April 2017
Laser Sintering of Printed Anodes for Al-Air Batteries journal January 2018