Fully voltage-controlled electrohydrodynamic jet printing of conductive silver tracks with a sub-100 μm linewidth

Silver microtracks with excellent electrical functionality were created by electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing of commercial metallo-organic ink. Novel e-jet printing was performed in a fully voltage-controlled fashion. By using a 20 mu m nozzle and reducing the printing distance to 50 mu m, metallic tracks with a sub-100 mu m linewidth were successfully achieved on Si substrates. The physical properties of the printed tracks were characterized by means of scanning electron microscopy, atomic force microscopy, energy-dispersive x-ray spectrum analysis, and electrical measurements. A low resistivity in the range (2-4) x 10(-8) Omega m, 1.7-2.4 times of the theoretical value of silver, was obtained for the printed microtracks. A uniform fine track with a 35 mu m feature size was produced by pulsed jet printing operating at low voltage, and a drop-on-demand capability of similar to 7 pl/drop was estimated. (C) 2009 American Institute of Physics. [DOI: 10.1063/1.3176952]