Direct-Write Inkjet Printing of Nanosilver Ink (UTDAg) on PEEK Substrate

For uniform and ideal inkjet printing of liquid phase materials on substrates, the jetting parameters are required to be optimized to generate desired drop in term of volume and speed. In this research paper, different jetting device parameters such as waveform dwell voltage and frequency are tested at different platform velocity using fly mode printing with burst to print lines on semicrystalline polyether ether ketone (PEEK) substrate. The ink used in this case is high conducive nanosilver supplied by UT Dots, Inc. (UTDAg) to investigate its feasibility to be printed on PEEK. Initially, the printer is used to print six lines directly on the substrate at same velocity 20 mm/s and different drop spacing for printing along the line. Then, three lines with drop spacing of 80 mu m is printed at stage velocity 30 mm/s , 40 mm/s and 50 mm/s to investigate effective frequency for droplet generation and obtain even and smooth line. Physical and adhesion characteristics of the printed lines are performed by optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, surface profilometry, and soak tests. It is observed that for 60 mu m nozzle and a dwell voltage of 24 V, drop spacing of 80,um and stage velocity of 50 mm/s result in uniform line. Finally, the resistance of optimized line is measured.