Inkjet printing and rapid ebeam sintering enable formation of highly conductive patterns in roll to roll process

Electron beam sintering at ambient pressure is demonstrated for the first time, in formation of highly conductive silver patterns composed of silver nanoparticles. Silver nanoparticles were inkjet printed on a plastic substrate, followed by rapid ebeam irradiation, without causing any damage to the substrate. It was found that exposing the printed silver patterns to a dose of 600 kGy yielded a resistivity as low as 4.5 μΩ cm, which is only 2.8 times higher than that of the bulk silver. The effect of various parameters related to electron energy and penetration depth on the sintering efficiency was evaluated. This finding reveals the applicability of ebeam technology in printed electronics for large-scale, roll-to-roll, high throughput printing processes.