Additive manufacturing of 96 MHz surface acoustic wave devices by means of superfine inkjet printing

The additive manufacturing of electronic devices via inkjet printing presents a versatile alternative to the time and material consuming traditional lithographic techniques. Superfine inkjet (SIJ) printing is applied for the rapid prototyping of surface acoustic wave (SAW) devices. Using a commercial platinum ink, narrow conducting lines with about 3 times the bulk resistivity are created. We are the first to directly pattern interdigital transducers (IDTs) of about 10 mu m width onto piezoelectric 128 degrees YX LiNbO3 substrates at room temperature. Reflection and transmission curves are recorded. The observed resonance frequency of 95.6 MHz matches to the theoretical value of about 100 MHz for the device. We propose that the SIJ technology can produce IDTs of down to 1 mu m width, venturing into the production of up to 1 GHz SAW devices.