Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing

Tafoya, Rebecca R.; Secor, Ethan B.

doi:10.1088/2058-8585/ab6e74

Understanding and mitigating process drift in aerosol jet printing

Journal Article · Wed Feb 12 00:00:00 EST 2020 · Flexible and Printed Electronics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ab6e74· OSTI ID:1601270

Tafoya, Rebecca R. ^[1]; ^[1]

Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Aerosol jet printing offers a versatile, high-resolution prototyping capability for flexible and hybrid electronics. Despite its rapid growth in recent years, persistent problems such as process drift hinder the adoption of this technology in production environments. Here we explore underlying causes of process drift during aerosol jet printing and introduce an engineered solution to improve deposition stability. In this work it is shown that the ink level within the cartridge is a critical factor in determining atomization efficiency, such that the reduction in ink volume resulting from printing itself can induce significant and systematic process drift. By integrating a custom 3D-printed cartridge with an ink recirculation system, ink composition and level within the cartridge are better maintained. This strategy allows extended duration printing with improved stability, as evidenced by 30 h of printing over 5 production runs. This provides an important tool for extending the duration and improving reliability for aerosol jet printing, a key factor for integration in practical manufacturing operations.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Research Organization:: Sandia National Laboratories (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program. Harry S. Truman Fellowship; USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)

Grant/Contract Number:: AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525

OSTI ID:: 1601270

Report Number(s):: SAND--2020-1360J; 683614

Journal Information:: Flexible and Printed Electronics, Journal Name: Flexible and Printed Electronics Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 5; ISSN 2058-8585

Publisher:: IOPscienceCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
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