Laser sintering process of Ag nanoparticle based ink on polyethylene terephthalate for printed electronics

The sintering of nanoparticle based inks is a key process in the manufacture of functional printed electronics on flexible and thermally sensitive substrates. The large area format in a roll to roll process has attracted the interest of both the industry and research communities in recent years. As a potential option, this paper studies the laser sintering process of printed Ag nanoparticle based inks on Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) polymer to produce conductive circuits. Among the laser systems investigated are pico and nanosecond Nd:YAG laser (1064 nm) as well as Ytterbium fibre laser (1070 nm). The sintering process of the Ag nanoparticles was evaluated in terms of the attained resistivity and the speed of the process. A phenomenological explanation of the sintering process is provided. This research work also identifies the issues encountered and the challenges for process scalability.