Approaching the Practical Conductivity Limits of Aerosol Jet Printed Silver
- Northrop Grumman Corporation, Redondo Beach, CA (United States); Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation, Redondo Beach, CA (United States)
- Northrop Grumman Corporation, Redondo Beach, CA (United States); Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Brookhaven National Lab. (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Previous efforts to directly write conductive metals have been narrowly focused on nanoparticle ink suspensions that require aggressive sintering (>200°C) and result in low-density, small-grained agglomerates with electrical conductivities <25% of bulk metal. Here, we demonstrate aerosol jet printing of a reactive ink solution and characterize high-density (93%) printed silver traces having near-bulk conductivity and grain sizes greater than the electron mean free path, while only requiring low temperature (80°C) treatment. We have developed a predictive electronic transport model which correlates the microstructure to the measured conductivity and identifies a strategy to approach the practical conductivity limit for printed metals. Our analysis of how grain boundaries and tortuosity contribute to electrical resistivity provides insight into the basic materials science that governs how an ink formulator or process developer might approach improving the conductivity. Transmission line measurements validate that electrical properties are preserved up to 20GHz, which demonstrates the utility of this technique for printed RF components. Finally, this work reveals a new method of producing robust printed electronics that retain the advantages of rapid prototyping and three-dimensional fabrication while achieving the performance necessary for success within the aerospace and communications industries.
- Research Organization:
- Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL), Upton, NY (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES). Scientific User Facilities Division
- Grant/Contract Number:
- SC0012704
- OSTI ID:
- 1661639
- Report Number(s):
- BNL-217530-2020-JAAM
- Journal Information:
- ACS Applied Materials and Interfaces, Vol. 12, Issue 26; ISSN 1944-8244
- Publisher:
- American Chemical Society (ACS)Copyright Statement
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Web of Science
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