Large Area Flexible Electronics Fabrication by Selective Laser Sintering of Nanoparticles with a Scanning Mirror

2009 ◽  
Vol 1196 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seung Hwan Ko ◽  
Heng Pan ◽  
Nico Hotz ◽  
Costas P. Grigoropoulos
Keyword(s):  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Laser Energy ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Laser Sintering ◽  
Plasmon Mode ◽  
Metal Nanoparticle ◽  
Polymer Substrate ◽  
Large Area ◽  
Scanning Mirror

AbstractThe development of electric circuit fabrication on heat and chemically sensitive polymer substrates has attracted significant interest as a pathway to low-cost or large-area electronics. We demonstrated the large area, direct patterning of microelectronic structures by selective laser sintering of nanoparticles without using any conventional, very expensive vacuum or photoresist deposition steps. Surface monolayer protected gold nanoparticles suspended in organic solvent was spin coated on a glass or polymer substrate. Then low power continuous wave Ar-ion laser was irradiated as a local heat source to induce selective laser sintering of nanoparticles by a scanning mirror system. Metal nanoparticle possessed low melting temperature (<150°C) due to thermodynamic size effect, and high laser absorption due to surface plasmon mode. These make metal nanoparticles ideal for the low temperature, low laser energy selective laser processing, and further applicable for electronics fabrication on a heat sensitive polymer substrate. We extended our laser selective sintering of nanoparticles research to a large area (> 4” wafer) using scanning mirror to demonstrate current technology for industry level fabrication.

scholarly journals Continuous-Wave Laser-Induced Transfer of Metal Nanoparticles to Arbitrary Polymer Substrates

Nanomaterials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 701 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaemook Lim ◽  
Youngchan Kim ◽  
Jaeho Shin ◽  
Younggeun Lee ◽  
Wooseop Shin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Metal Electrode ◽  
Metal Nanoparticle ◽  
Polymer Substrates ◽  
Cw Laser ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Strong Adhesion ◽  
The Difference

Laser-induced forward transfer (LIFT) and selective laser sintering (SLS) are two distinct laser processes that can be applied to metal nanoparticle (NP) ink for the fabrication of a conductive layer on various substrates. A pulsed laser and a continuous-wave (CW) laser are utilized respectively in the conventional LIFT and SLS processes; however, in this study, CW laser-induced transfer of the metal NP is proposed to achieve simultaneous sintering and transfer of the metal NP to a wide range of polymer substrates. At the optimum laser parameters, it was shown that a high-quality uniform metal conductor was created on the acceptor substrate while the metal NP was sharply detached from the donor substrate, and we anticipate that such an asymmetric transfer phenomenon is related to the difference in the adhesion strengths. The resultant metal electrode exhibits a low resistivity that is comparable to its bulk counterpart, together with strong adhesion to the target polymer substrate. The versatility of the proposed process in terms of the target substrate and applicable metal NPs brightens its prospects as a facile manufacturing scheme for flexible electronics.

Simulation and Characterization of Nanoparticle Thermal Conductivity for a Microscale Selective Laser Sintering System

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joshua Grose ◽  
Obehi G. Dibua ◽  
Dipankar Behera ◽  
Chee S. Foong ◽  
Michael Cullinan
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Conductivity ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Laser Sintering ◽  
Metal Nanoparticle ◽  
Feature Size ◽  
Cad Models ◽  
Minimum Feature Size ◽  
Geometric Arrangements ◽  
Thermal Simulations

Abstract Additive Manufacturing (AM) technologies are often restricted by the minimum feature size of parts they can repeatably build. The microscale selective laser sintering (μ-SLS) process, which is capable of producing single micron resolution parts, addresses this issue directly. However, the unwanted dissipation of heat within the powder bed of a μ-SLS device during laser sintering is a primary source of error that limits the minimum feature size of the producible parts. A particle scale thermal model is needed to characterize the thermal properties of the nanoparticles undergoing sintering and allow for the prediction of heat affected zones (HAZ) and the improvement of final part quality. Thus, this paper presents a method for the determination of the effective thermal conductivity of metal nanoparticle beds in a microscale selective laser sintering process using finite element simulations in ANSYS. CAD models of nanoparticle groups at various timesteps during sintering are developed from Phase Field Modeling (PFM) output data, and steady state thermal simulations are performed on each group. The complete simulation framework developed in this work is adaptable to particle groups of variable sizes and geometric arrangements. Results from the thermal models are used to estimate the thermal conductivity of the copper nanoparticles as a function of sintering duration.

Localized Laser Sintering of Metal Nanoparticle Inks Printed with Aerosol Jet® Technology for Flexible Electronics

2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (4) ◽  
pp. 132-139 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael J. Renn ◽  
Matthew Schrandt ◽  
Jaxon Renn ◽  
James Q. Feng
Keyword(s):  
Metal Nanoparticles ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Damage Threshold ◽  
Laser Sintering ◽  
Heating Time ◽  
Metal Nanoparticle ◽  
Polymer Materials ◽  
Nanoparticle Inks ◽  
Short Heating Time

Direct-write methods, such as the Aerosol Jet® technology, have enabled fabrication of flexible multifunctional 3-D devices by printing electronic circuits on thermoplastic and thermoset polymer materials. Conductive traces printed by additive manufacturing typically start in the form of liquid metal nanoparticle inks. To produce functional circuits, the printed metal nanoparticle ink material must be postprocessed to form conductive metal by sintering at elevated temperature. Metal nanoparticles are widely used in conductive inks because they can be sintered at relatively low temperatures compared with the melting temperature of bulk metal. This is desirable for fabricating circuits on low-cost plastic substrates. To minimize thermal damage to the plastics, while effectively sintering the metal nanoparticle inks, we describe a laser sintering process that generates a localized heat-affected zone (HAZ) when scanning over a printed feature. For sintering metal nanoparticles that are reactive to oxygen, an inert or reducing gas shroud is applied around the laser spot to shield the HAZ from ambient oxygen. With the shroud gas-shielded laser, oxygen-sensitive nanoparticles, such as those made of copper and nickel, can be successfully sintered in open air. With very short heating time and small HAZ, the localized peak sintering temperature can be substantially higher than that of damage threshold for the underlying substrate, for effective metallization of nanoparticle inks. Here, we demonstrate capabilities for producing conductive tracks of silver, copper, and copper–nickel alloys on flexible films as well as fabricating functional thermocouples and strain gauge sensors, with printed metal nanoparticle inks sintered by shroud-gas-shielded laser.

scholarly journals Selective Laser Sintering of PA6: Effect of Powder Recoating on Fibre Orientation

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 108
Author(s):  
Tobias Heckner ◽  
Michael Seitz ◽  
Sven Robert Raisch ◽  
Gerrit Huelder ◽  
Peter Middendorf
Keyword(s):  
Computed Tomography ◽  
Mechanical Properties ◽  
Layer Thickness ◽  
Laser Power ◽  
Laser Energy ◽  
Fibre Orientation ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Laser Sintering ◽  
Shear Stresses ◽  
Imaging Results

In Selective Laser Sintering, fibres are strongly orientated during the powder recoating process. This effect leads to an additional increase of anisotropy in the final printed parts. This study investigates the influence of process parameter variation on the mechanical properties and the fibre orientation. A full factorial design of experiment was created to evaluate the processing parameters of recoating speed, layer thickness and laser power on the part’s modulus of elasticity. Based on the mechanical testing, computed tomography was applied to selected samples to investigate the process-induced fibre microstructure, and calculate the fibre orientation tensors. The results show increasing part stiffness in the deposition direction, with decreasing layer thickness and increasing laser power, while the recoating speed only shows little effect on the mechanical performance. This complies with computed tomography imaging results, which show an increase in fibre orientation with smaller layer thickness. With thinner layers, and hence smaller shear gaps, shear stresses induced by the roller during recoating increase significantly, leading to excessive fibre reorientation and alignment. The high level of fibre alignment implies an increase of strength and stiffness in the recoating direction. In addition, thinner layer thickness under constant laser energy density results in improved melting behaviour, and thus improved fibre consolidation, consequently further increasing the mechanical properties. Meanwhile, the parameters of recoating speed and laser power do not have a significant impact on fibre orientation within their applicable process windows.

Laser Compensation for Ceramics Accuracy Improvement of Selective Laser Sintering

2014 ◽  
Vol 902 ◽  
pp. 12-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ruey Tsung Lee ◽  
Fwu Hsing Liu ◽  
Ku En Ting ◽  
Sheng Lih Yeh ◽  
Wen Hsueng Lin
Keyword(s):  
Control System ◽  
Feedback Control ◽  
Rapid Prototyping ◽  
Laser Energy ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Laser Sintering ◽  
Feedback Control System ◽  
Well Performance ◽  
Layer Deposition ◽  
Slurry Layer

This research developed a feedback control system of laser compensation for the rapid prototyping (RP) machine using layer-wise slurry deposition and selective laser sintering (SLS). The slurry was prepared by silica power and silica sol with 60 and 40 wt.% with suitable rheological properties for 0.1 mm layer deposition. Four ceramics for comparison of the formability of fabricated ceramic green parts with/without the feedback control system of laser energy density for models were designed With this laser feedback control, batter quality ceramic green parts can be manufactured and the rapid prototyping machine with steady laser energy radiated on slurry layer was achieved. Experimental results validate the well performance of the measuring laser power and feedback control system.

Three-Dimensional Modeling of Selective Laser Sintering of Two-Component Metal Powder Layers

2005 ◽  
Vol 128 (1) ◽  
pp. 299-306 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tiebing Chen ◽  
Yuwen Zhang
Keyword(s):  
Metal Powder ◽  
Continuous Wave ◽  
Selective Laser Sintering ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Laser Sintering ◽  
Powder Layer ◽  
Metal Powders ◽  
Gaussian Laser Beam ◽  
Scanning Velocity ◽  
Three Dimensional Modeling

Laser sintering of a metal powder mixture that contains two kinds of metal powders with significantly different melting points under a moving Gaussian laser beam is investigated numerically. The continuous-wave laser-induced melting accompanied by shrinkage and resolidification of the metal powder layer are modeled using a temperature-transforming model. The liquid flow of the melted low-melting-point metal driven by capillary and gravity forces is also included in the physical model. The numerical results are validated by experimental results, and a detailed parametric study is performed. The effects of the moving heat source intensity, the scanning velocity, and the thickness of the powder layer on the sintering depth, the configuration of the heat affected zone, and the temperature distribution are discussed.

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