An Approach to a Silver Conductive Ink for Inkjet Printer Technology

Abstract

Silver-based metal–organic decomposition inks composed of silver salts, complexing agents and volatile solvents are now the subject of much research due to the simplicity and variability of their preparation, their high stability and their relatively low sintering temperature. The use of this type of ink in inkjet printing allows for improved cost-effective and environmentally friendly technology for the production of electrical devices, including flexible electronics. An approach to producing a silver salt-based reactive ink for jet printing has been developed. The test images were printed with an inkjet printer onto polyimide substrates, and two-stage thermal sintering was carried out at temperatures of 60 °C and 100–180 °C. The structure and electrical properties of the obtained conductive lines were investigated. As a result, under optimal conditions an electrically conductive film with low surface resistance of approximately 3 Ω/square can be formed.