Photosintering and electrical performance of CuO nanoparticle inks

• Published in: Organic electronics Vol. 15; no. 8; pp. 1836 - 1842
• Main Authors: Paquet, Chantal, James, Robert, Kell, Arnold J., Mozenson, Olga, Ferrigno, Julie, Lafrenière, Sylvie, Malenfant, Patrick R.L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Amsterdam Elsevier B.V 01.08.2014; Elsevier
• Subjects: Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Conductive ink; Copper; Copper oxide nanoparticle; Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science; rheology; Electronic structure and electrical properties of surfaces, interfaces, thin films and low-dimensional structures; Electronic transport in multilayers, nanoscale materials and structures; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); Inkjet printing; Materials science; Nanopowders; Nanoscale materials and structures: fabrication and characterization; Optical sources and standards; Optics; Photosintering; Physics; Sheet resistance; Photosintering; Inkjet printing; Copper; Copper oxide nanoparticle; Conductive ink; Sheet resistance; Pulse width; Electrical conductivity; Circuit design; Line widths; Optimization; Light sources; Nanoparticles; Current carrying capacity; Sheet resistivity; Sintering; Electrical conductance; Ink jet printing; Time delay; Copper oxide; Electrical characteristic
• ISSN: 1566-1199; 1878-5530
• DOI: 10.1016/j.orgel.2014.05.014

[Display omitted] •We evaluate photosintering effectiveness of copper oxide nanoparticle ink.•We evaluate the effect of line-width on sheet resistance (100, 200 and 300 microns).•Ink evaporation impacts the effectiveness of the reducing agent in CuO ink.•Evaporation rate varies as a function of feature size (line-width).•Circuits with drastically different feature sizes may require special considerations. A copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticle ink was inkjet printed and photosintered in order to optimize electrical performance as a function of pattern dimension. For a given photosintering condition, electrical conductance varied strongly with line widths, ranging from 100 to 300μm, illustrating the implications of printing and sintering complex circuit designs with varying feature sizes. By tuning the time delay between printing and sintering, exposure wavelength, radiant energy, pulse width and the distance between the light-source and substrate, photosintering conditions were optimized so that variations in sheet resistance for different line widths were minimized. Using optimized photosintering conditions, a sheet resistance value as low as 150mΩ/□ (resistivity of 9μΩcm) and current carrying capacity of 280mA for a 300μm wide trace was achieved.