Mid Sweden University

Different types of the commercial surface treatment InkAid have been evaluated as a surface treatment to enhance print quality of silver nano-particle ink structures printed on polyimide and polyethene substrate. Originally these coatings have been specified to be applied on substrates for graphical ink jet printing. On the coated polyimide and polyethene substrates lines of different widths have been printed using a Dimatix materials printer together with silver nano-particle ink manufactured by Advanced Nano Products. The prints have then been evaluated in terms of print quality and resistivity before and after sintering. The results show that the application of these coatings can improve the print quality considerably, making it possible to print lines with a good definition, which is not  otherwise possible with this type of ink on this substrate types. It has been found that the coating Semi Gloss provides the best results, both in terms of print quality as well as the lowest resistivity. The resistivity on polyethene is 3.5*10^-7Ωm at best when sintered at 150°C and for polyimide  8.9*10^-8Ωm sintered at 200°C. This corresponds to a conductivity of about  4.5% and  18%of bulk silver, respectively. It can be concluded that applying such PVP based coatings to polyethene and polyimide will increase the print quality quite substantially, making it possible to print patterns with requirements of smaller line widths and more details than what is possible without coating.

Thin inkjet-printed tracks of silver nanoparticles have previously been observed to show a non-reversible decrease in resistance when exposed to a high degree of relative humidity and thus providing sensor functionality with a memory effect. This paper provides a more in-depth explanation of the observed humidity sensor effect that originates from inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle sensors on a paper substrate. It is shown that the geometry of the sensor has a large effect on the sensor's initial resistance, and therefore also on the sensor's resistive dynamic range. The importance of the sensor geometry is believed to be due to the amount of solvent from the ink interacting with the coating of the paper substrate, which in turn enables the diffusion of salts from the paper coating into the ink and thus affecting the silver ink.

Printed electronics is a rapidly developing field where many components can already be manufactured on flexible substrates by printing or by other high speed manufacturing methods. However, the functionality of even the most inexpensive microcontroller or other integrated circuit is, at the present time and for the foreseeable future, out of reach by means of fully printed components. Therefore, it is of interest to investigate hybrid printed electronics, where regular electrical components are mounted on flexible substrates to achieve high functionality at a low cost. Moreover, the use of paper as a substrate for printed electronics is of growing interest because it is an environmentally friendly and renewable material and is, additionally, the main material used for many packages in which electronics functionalities could be integrated. One of the challenges for such hybrid printed electronics is the mounting of the components and the interconnection between layers on flexible substrates with printed conductive tracks that should provide as low a resistance as possible while still being able to be used in a high speed manufacturing process. In this article, several conductive adhesives are evaluated as well as soldering for mounting surface mounted components on a paper circuit board with inkjet printed tracks and, in addition, a double sided Arduino compatible circuit board is manufactured and programmed.

The resistance of inkjet printed lines using a silver nanoparticle based ink can be very dependent on the substrate. A very large difference in resistivity was observed for tracks printed on paper substrates with aluminum oxide based coatings compared to silica based coatings. Silica based coatings are often cationized with polymers using chloride as a counter ion. It is suggested that the precipitation of silver salts is the cause of the high resistivity, since papers pretreated with salt solutions containing ions that precipitate silver salts gave a high resistance. Silver nitrate has a high solubility and paper pretreated with nitrate ions gave a low resistivity without sintering. The results obtained show that, by choosing the correct type of paper substrate, it is possible to manufacture printed structures, such as interconnects on paper, without the need for, or at least to reduce the need for, post-print sintering. This phenomenon is, of course, ink specific. Inks without or with a low silver ion content are not expected to behave in this manner. In some sensor applications, a high resistivity is desired and, by using the correct combination of ink and paper, these types of sensors can be facilitated.

In this paper an ink-jet printed write once read many (WORM) resistive memory fabricated on paper substrate is presented. The memory elements are programmed for different resistance states by printing triethylene glycol monoethyl ether on the substrate before the actual memory element is printed using silver nano particle ink. The resistance is thus able to be set to a broad range of values without changing the geometry of the elements. A memory card consisting of 16 elements is manufactured for which the elements are each programmed to one of four defined logic levels, providing a total of 4294 967 296 unique possible combinations. Using a readout circuit, originally developed for resistive sensors to avoid crosstalk between elements, a memory card reader is manufactured that is able to read the values of the memory card and transfer the data to a PC. Such printed memory cards can be used in various applications.

Industrial innovation is mostly driven by miniaturization. As a result of remarkable technological advancements in the fields of equipment, materials and production processes, transistor, the fundamental active component in conventional electronics, has shrunk in size. Semiconductor technology is unique in that all performance metrics are enhanced, while at the same time unit prices are reduced. Moore’s Law, which predicts that the number of components per chip will double every two years, was established in 1965, and the industry has been able to keep up with this prophetic prognosis since. Thermal management, on the other hand, has become a key limiting factor for current electronic circuits and is set to put a stop to Moore’s Law. Given the fact that complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) scaling is reaching fundamental limits, there are several new alternative processing devices and architectures that have been investigated for both traditional integrated circuit (IC) technologies and novel technologies, including new technologies aimed at contributing to advances in scaling progress and cost reductions in manufacturing operations in the coming decades. These factors will encourage the development of new information processing and memory systems, new technologies for integrating numerous features heterogeneously and new system architectural design layouts, among other things. Energy efficiency is advantageous from a sustainability perspective and for consumer electronics, for which fewer power-hungry components mean longer times between charges and smaller batteries. The creation of novel chip-scale tools that can aid in the transfer of information across optical frequencies and microscale photonics between nanoscale electronic devices is now a possibility. Bridging this technological gap may be achieved by plasmonics. The incorporation of plasmonic, photonic and electrical components on a single chip may lead to a number of innovative breakthroughs. Photonic integrated circuits (PICs) enable the realization of ultra-small, high-efficiency, ultra-responsive and CMOS-compatible devices that can be used in applications ranging from optical wireless communication systems (6G and beyond) and supercomputers to health and energy.

This thesis provides a platform from which to design nanoplasmonic devices while facilitating high-transmission and/or absorption efficiency, miniaturized size and the use of near-infrared (NIR) wavelengths for telecom applications. With a significant amount of Internet traffic transmitted optically, communication systems are further tightening the requirements for the development of new optical devices. Several new device structures based on the metal-insulator-metal (MIM) plasmonic waveguide are proposed and investigated using performance metrics. The transmission line theory (TLM) from microwave circuit theory and coupled mode theory (CMT) is studied and employed in the design process of the nanostructures, in particular to address the losses in plasmonic-based devices, which has been the major factor hampering their widespread usage in communication systems. By taking advantage of well-established microwave circuit theory (through new design that paves the way for mitigating these losses and enabling efficient transmission of power flow in the optical devices), we have suggested a number of high-transmission efficiency nanodevices that offer highly competitive performance compared with other platforms. As a result, a promising future for plasmonic technology, which would enable design and fabrication of multipurpose and multifunctional optical devices that are efficient in terms of losses, footprint and capability of integrating active devices, is anticipated.

This letter presents design and simulation results of a highly-efficient and compact plasmonic high-pass filter based on a MIM waveguide. Numerical results reveal that by tailoring structural parameters, desired cut-off wavelength can be chosen.

This paper reports design and simulation of a tunable highly-efficient reconfigurableplasmonic filter based on MIM waveguides. Simulation results shown that by adjusting structuralparameters, the device can work as a multipurpose optical circuit.

This paper reports design and numerical results of an ultra-compact, efficient and tunable plasmonic band-stop filter based on a metal-insulator-metal waveguide at optical channels. Furthermore, a wide-bandgap can be easily achieved by adjusting the width of the of the stub resonator.

A miniaturized and efficient tunable wide flat-top band-pass filter at NIR is proposed in a MIM plasmonic waveguide. Furthermore, numerical results illustrate that tunability is readily attained by varying length of right-angle trapezoid resonator.

A highly efficient and compact wide flat-top band-pass filter at NIR is realized in a MIM plasmonic waveguide.Besides, simulation results reveal that through tuning the length of resonators, a broadband band-pass transmission can beeasily achieved.

We report the design and numerical results of a miniaturized and efficient plasmonic cut-off filter that is based on stepped impedance resonators and operates at telecom wavelengths.

This letter describes design and numerical simulation of an extremely-compact and efficient high-pass plasmonic filter based on MIM waveguides. Numerical results shown that by tuning structural parameters, desired cut-off wavelengths can be chosen.

This paper presents design and simulation results of a super-compact and efficient plasmonic cut-off filter based on an asymmetric E-shaped resonator. Moreover, by modulating length of the resonator, cut-off wavelength can be easily adjusted.

We present the design and simulation results of a highly-miniaturized and efficient flat-top plasmonic band-pass filter based on a MIM waveguide. In addition to that, it is revealed that by adjusting the length of stub segment, the desired spectral response can be easily realized.

We report design and simulation results of a high-efficiency long-wavelength cut-off filter realized by stepped impedance resonators. Moreover, numerical results confirm by modulating the length of resonator, cut-off wavelength can be easily tuned.

We report a facile in situ synthesis of spherical copper nanoparticles (NPs) templated by a gelled cellulose II matrix under alkaline aqueous reaction conditions. In under 20 min, the hybrid material could be obtained in a one-pot reaction. Field-emission scanning electron microscopy (FE-SEM) revealed that the polycrystalline NPs of 200–500 nm were well distributed in the regenerated cellulose matrix. The average Cu crystallite size was of the order of 20 nm, as estimated from both X-ray diffraction (XRD) and FE-SEM. XRD data also indicated that the composite contained up to approximately 20% Cu₂O. In suspensions containing the hybrid material, growth of Escerichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus strains was inhibited by 80% and 95%, respectively, after 72 h. The synthesis procedure offers a general approach to designing various low-cost hybrid materials of almost any shape, and the concept could be extended to utilization areas such as catalysis, functional textiles, and food packaging as well as to electronic applications.

In this study, Cu and Cu₂O nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized through chemical reduction of soluble copper-chelating ligand complexes using formaldehyde as a reducing agent. The influence of various chelating ligands, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA), diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA), and a surface-active derivative of DTPA (C₁₂-DTPA), as well as surfactants (i.e., hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB), dodecyltrimethylammonium chloride (DoTAC), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), and dimethyldodecylamine-N-oxide (DDAO)), on morphology and the composition of produced NPs was investigated. In the absence of surfactants, spherical copper particles with polycrystalline structure could be obtained. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis revealed that, in the presence of EDTA, the synthesized NPs are mainly composed of Cu with a crystallite size on the order of 35 nm, while with DTPA and C₁₂-DTPA, Cu₂O is also present in the NPs as a minority phase. The addition of ionic surfactants to the copper–EDTA complex solution before reduction resulted in smaller spherical particles, mainly composed of Cu. However, when DDAO was added, pure Cu₂O nano-octahedrons were formed, as verified by high-resolution scanning electron microscopy (HR-SEM) and XRD. Furthermore, a hybrid material could be successfully prepared by mixing the octahedral Cu₂O NPs with cellulose dissolved in a LiOH/urea solvent system, followed by spin-coating on silica wafers. It is expected that this simple and scalable route to prepare hybrid materials could be applied to a variety of possible applications.

Chelating agents, molecules that very strongly coordinates certain metal ions, are used industrially as well as in consumer products to minimize disturbances and increase performance of reactions and applications. The widely used sequestering agents, nitrilotriacetic acid (NTA), ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) and diethylenetriaminepentaacetic acid (DTPA) belong to this branch of readily water-soluble compounds. When these chemical structures also have hydrophobic parts, they are prone to adsorb at air-water interfaces and to self-assemble. Such bifunctional molecules can be called chelating surfactants and will have more extended utilization prospects than common chelating agents or ordinary ionic surfactants. The present review attempts to highlight the fundamental behavior of chelating surfactants in solution and at interfaces, and their very specific interactions with metal ions. Methods to recover chelating surfactants from metal chelates are also described. Moreover, utilization of chelating surfactants in applications for metal removal in environmental engineering and mineral processing, as well as for metal control in the fields of biology, chemistry and physics, is exemplified and discussed.

In this work, we aimed to tune cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) properties by introducing different functional groups (aldehyde, carboxyl, silane, and ammonium groups) on the surface through different chemical modifications. These functional groups were obtained by combining: the periodate oxidation with TEMPO-oxidation, aminosylation or cationization. CNCs produced and their films were characterized to elucidate their performances. The results showed that the properties of obtained CNCs varied depending on the grafted functionalities on the surface. The results reveal that after each modification a colloidal stability is preserved. Interestingly, Periodate oxidation of cellulose nanocrystals results in film components that interact through intra- and intermolecular hemiacetals and lead to films with a tensile strength of 116 MPa compared to the pristine CNCs, in contrast the subsequent modifications led to lower tensile strength. Of note, remarkable thermal stability has been achieved after modifications reaching a maximum of 280 °C. The oxygen barrier properties of the films after modifications varied between 0.48 and 0.54 cm3μm/(m2d*kPa) at 50 % RH. 

Surface states and interface recombination velocity that exist between detector interfaces have always been known to affect the performance of a detector. This article describes how the detector performance varies when the doping profile is altered. When irradiated with electrons, the results show that while changes in the doping profile have an effect of the detector responsivity with respect to the interface recombination velocity

Vs, there is no visible effect with respect tofixed oxide charge

Qfotherwise known as interface fixed charge density.

In the present work we conduct a study of ber lters produced by evaporation of silica particles upon aMM-ber core. A band lter was designed and theoretically veried using a 2D Comsol simulation model ofa 3D problem, and calculated in the frequency domain in respect to refractive index. The ber lters werefabricated by stripping and chemically etching the middle part of an MM-ber until the core was exposed. Amono layer of silica nano particles were evaporated on the core using an Evaporation Induced Self-Assembly(EISA) method. The experimental results indicated a broader bandwidth than indicated by the simulationswhich can be explained by the mismatch in the particle size distributions, uneven particle packing and nallyby eects from multiple mode angles. Thus, there are several closely connected Bragg wavelengths that buildup the broader bandwidth. The experimental part shows that it is possible by narrowing the particle sizedistributing and better control of the particle packing, the lter eectiveness can be greatly improved.

The method laser ablation in liquids was used to produce particles from a YVO4 crystal-target in deionized water and an ammonia solution respectively, varying the pulse repetition-rate and runtime of the laser. Laser ablation in liquids produces relatively small amounts of material, and one aim of this study was therefore to test characterization methods with respect to their usefulness under these circumstances. Results from the characterization methods were then used to draw conclusions about the size and structure of the particles after the ablation process. The methods tested were Dynamic Light Scattering (DLS), Raman spectroscopy, X-Ray Diffraction and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) with integrated Energy Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy (EDS). DLS and SEM were successful in determining the size of the particles, which ended up in the range of 100 – 1000 nm. This means that submicron particles were generated. Results from Raman spectroscopy and EDS indicated that the chemical structure seems to be mostly preserved for the samples in deionized water. For the samples in ammonia solution, the results from EDS and the Raman spectra were less clear. The X-ray diffraction failed to deliver useful results on the small amount of material produced by the laser ablation.

As the scaling technology in the silicon-based semiconductor industry is approaching physical limits, it is necessary to search for proper materials to be utilized as alternatives for nanoscale devices and technologies. On the other hand, carbon-related nanomaterials have attracted so much attention from a vast variety of research and industry groups due to the outstanding electrical, optical, mechanical and thermal characteristics. Such materials have been used in a variety of devices in microelectronics. In particular, graphene and carbon nanotubes are extraordinarily favorable substances in the literature. Hence, investigation of carbon-related nanomaterials and nanostructures in different ranges of applications in science, technology and engineering is mandatory. This paper reviews the basics, advantages, drawbacks and investigates the recent progress and advances of such materials in micro and nanoelectronics, optoelectronics and biotechnology.

Electron beam melting (EBM) is one of the constantly developing powder bed fusion (PBF) additive manufacturing technologies (AM) offering advanced control over the manufacturing process. Freedom of component shapes is one of the AM competitive advantages already used at industrial and semi- industrial scale. Development of the additive manufacturing today is targeting both widening of the available materials classes, and introducing new enabling modalities. Present research is related to the new possibilities in tailoring different material properties within additively manufactured components effectively adding “fourth dimension to the 3D-printing”. Specific examples are given in relation to the electron beam melting, but majority of the conclusions are valid for the laser-based PBF techniques as well. Through manipulating beam energy deposition it is possible to tailor quite different material properties selectively within each manufactured component, including effective material density as well as thermal, mechanical, electrical and acoustic properties. It is also possible to acquire by choice both metal-metal composite and completely alloyed material, when blends of precursor powder are used together with the beam energy manipulation.   

Additive manufacturing (AM) is becoming one of the most discussed modern technologies. Significant achievements of the AM in metals today are mainly connected to the unprecedented freedom of component shapes this technology allows. But full potential of these methods lies in the development of new materials designed to be used specifically with AM. Proper understanding of the AM process will open up new possibilities, where material and component properties can be specifically tailored by controlling the parameters throughout the whole manufacturing process. Present paper discusses the issues related to the beam melting technologies AM and electron beam welding (EBW). We are speaking of new direction in material science that can be termed “non-stationary metallurgy”, using the examples from material and process development for EBW, electron beam melting (EBM^®) and other additive manufacturing methods.

Softwood fibers pretreated with a monocomponent endoglucanase wereused to prepare a series of cellulose nanofiber qualities using amicrofluidizer and 2 to 34 MWh ton-1 of energy input. The specific surfacearea was determined for the series using critical point drying and gasadsorption. Although the specific surface area reached a maximum of 430m2 g-1 at 11 MWh ton-1, the nanofiber yield and transmittance continued toincrease beyond this point, indicating that more energy is required toovercome possible friction caused by an interwoven nanofiber networkunrelated to the specific surface area. A new method for estimating thesurface area was investigated using xyloglucan adsorption in pure water.With this method it was possible to follow the disintegration past the pointof maximum specific surface area. The technical significance of thesefindings is discussed.

Nanocellulose is a recently developed form of cellulose that has the potential to be used in many different industries, ranging from food to high-performance applications. This material is commercially manufactured through the homogenization of chemical pulps, but the process is energy-consuming and is still an important subject for development. Simple, robust methods are required for the quality control and optimization of industrial nanocellulose production. In this study, a number of different methods, based on different principles of monitoring the manufacture of cellulose nanofibers were evaluated and compared for five different nanocellulose qualities, both for their resolution and robustness/ease. Methods based on microscopy, light scattering, centrifugation, and viscosity were examined and all appeared useful for observing the manufacturing process during its initial stage. However, only methods based on centrifugation, turbidity, and transmittance yielded reliable data for the entire manufacturing process. Of these methods, transmittance measurement may be the best candidate for routine use because the method is simple, rapid, and only requires spectrophotometer equipment.

This study is focused on the use of radio frequency magnetron sputtering to modify the surface of porous Ti6Al4V alloy fabricated via additive manufacturing technology. The hydroxyapatite (HA) coated porous Ti6Al4V alloy was studied in respect with its chemical and phase composition, surface morphology, water contact angle and hysteresis, and surface free energy. Thin nanocrystalline HA film was deposited while its structure with diamond-shaped cells remained unchanged. Hysteresis and water contact angle measurements revealed an effect of the deposited HA films, namely an increased water contact angle and contact angle hysteresis. The increase of the contact angle of the coating-substrate system compared to the uncoated substrate was attributed to the multiscale structure of the resulted surfaces.

Antibacterial agents based on nanoparticles (NPs) have many important applications, e.g., for the textile industry, surface disinfection, wound dressing, water treatment, and food preservation. Because of their prevalent use it is important to understand whether bacteria could develop resistance to such antibacterial NPs similarly to the resistance that bacteria are known to develop to antibiotics. Here, it is reported that Escherichia coli(E. coli) develops adaptive resistance to antibacterial ZnO NPs after several days' exposure to the NPs. But, in contrast to antibiotics‐resistance, the observed resistance to ZnO NPs is not stable—after several days without exposure to the NPs, the bacteria regain their sensitivity to the NPs' antibacterial properties. Based on the analyses it is suggested that the observed resistance is caused by changes in the shape of the bacteria and the expressions of membrane proteins. The findings provide insights into the response of bacteria to antibacterial NPs, which is important to elucidate for designing and evaluating the risk of applications based on antibacterial NPs.

This work reveals the structural variations ofcellulose nanofibers (CNF) prepared from different cellulosesources, including softwood (Picea abies), hardwood (Euca-lyptus grandis × E. urophylla), and tunicate (Ciona intestinalis),using different preparation processes and their correlations tothe formation and performance of the films prepared from theCNF. Here, the CNF are prepared from wood chemical pulpsand tunicate isolated cellulose by an identical homogenizationtreatment subsequent to either an enzymatic hydrolysis or a2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinyl-1-oxyl (TEMPO)-mediated oxi-dation. They show a large structural diversity in terms ofchemical, morphological, and crystalline structure. Amongothers, the tunicate CNF consist of purer cellulose and have a degree of polymerization higher than that of wood CNF.Introduction of surface charges via the TEMPO-mediated oxidation is found to have significant impacts on the structure,morphology, optical, mechanical, thermal, and hydrophobic properties of the prepared films. For example, the film density isclosely related to the charge density of the used CNF, and the tensile stress of the films is correlated to the crystallinity index ofthe CNF. In turn, the CNF structure is determined by the cellulose sources and the preparation processes. This study providesuseful information and knowledge for understanding the importance of the raw material for the quality of CNF for various typesof applications.

A novel energy-efficient method called nanopulping (patent pending) to produce nanocellulose from chemical pulp, and anovel cross-flow ultra-filtration method to separate nanofibrils fractions of different size were applied in this study. Pretreatment with en-doglucanase or 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-1-oxyl (TEMPO) oxidation seems to enhance the nanopulping process. Results were evalu-ated with atomic force microscope and ultrafiltration. The nanopulping produced a relatively inhomogeneous material with larger parti-cles/fibers in addition to nanofibers. However, by ultrafiltration of the material it was possible to obtain more homogeneous material indifferent dimensions with methods industrially acceptable.

In this thesis, a number of commercially available paper substrates of various types are characterized and their characteristics related to the performance of inkjet-printed conductors using silver nanoparticle ink. The evaluated performance variables are electrical conductivity as well as the minimum achievable conductor width and the edge raggedness. It is shown that quick absorption of the ink carrier is beneficial for achieving well defined conductor geometry and high conductivity. Surface roughness with topography variations of sufficiently large amplitude and frequency is detrimental to print definition and conductivity. Porosity is another important factor, where the characteristic pore size is much more important than the total pore volume. A nearly ideal porous coating has large total pore volume but small characteristic pore size, preferably smaller than individual nanoparticles in the ink. Apparent surface energy is important for non-absorbing substrates but of limited importance for coatings with a high absorption rate.Additionally, a concept for improving the geometric definition of inkjet-printed conductors on nonporous films has been demonstrated. By coating the films with polymer–based coatings to provide a means of ink solvent removal, minimum conductor width were reduced a factor 2 or more.Intimately connected to the end performance of printed conductors is a well adapted sintering methodology. A comparative evaluation of a number of selective sintering methods has been performed on paper substrates with different heat tolerance. Pulsed high-power white light was found to be a good compromise between conductivity performance, reliability and production adaptability.The purpose of the work conducted in this thesis is to increase the knowledge base in how surface characteristics of papers and flexible films affect performance of printed nanoparticle structures. This would improve selection, adaption of, or manufacturing of such substrates to suit printed high conductivity patterns such as printed antennas for packaging.

A new manufacturing paradigm may lower the cost and environmental impact of existing products, as well as enable completely new products. Large scale, roll-to-roll manufacturing of flexible electronics and other functionality has great potential. However, a commercial breakthrough depends on a lower consumption of materials and energy compared with competing alternatives, and that sufficiently high performance and reliability of the products can be maintained. The substrate constitutes a large part of the product, and therefore its cost and environmental sustainability are important. Electrically conducting thin films are required in many functional devices and applications. In demanding applications, metal films offer the highest conductivity.

In this thesis, paper substrates of various type and construction were characterized, and the characteristics were related to the performance of inkjet-printed metal patterns. Fast absorption of the ink carrier was beneficial for well-defined pattern geometry, as well as high conductivity. Surface roughness with topography variations of sufficiently large amplitude and frequency, was detrimental to the pattern definition and conductivity. Porosity was another important factor, where the characteristic pore size was much more important than the total pore volume. Apparent surface energy was important for non-absorbing substrates, but of limited importance for coatings with a high absorption rate. Applying thin polymer–based coatings on flexible non-porous films to provide a mechanism for ink solvent removal, improved the pattern definition significantly. Inkjet-printing of a ZnO-dispersion on uncoated paper provided a thin spot-coating, allowing conductivity of silver nanoparticle films. Conductive nanoparticle films could not form directly on the uncoated paper.

The resulting performance of printed metal patterns was highly dependent on a well adapted sintering methodology. Several sintering methods were examined in this thesis, including conventional oven sintering, electrical sintering, microwave sintering, chemical sintering and intense pulsed light sintering. Specially designed coated papers with modified chemical and physical properties, were utilized for chemical low-temperature sintering of silver nanoparticle inks. For intense pulsed light sintering and material conversion of patterns, custom equipment was designed and built. Using the equipment, inkjet-printed copper oxide patterns were processed into highly conducting copper patterns. Custom-designed papers with mesoporous coatings and porous precoatings improved the reliablility and performance of the reduction and sintering process.

The thesis aims to clarify how ink-substrate interactions and sintering methodology affect the performance and reliability of inkjet-printed nanoparticle patterns on flexible substrates. This improves the selection, adaptation, design and manufacturing of suitable substrates for inkjet-printed high conductivity patterns, such as circuit boards or RFID antennas.  

In this work, electrical conductivity and print pattern definition isstudied for silver nanoparticle ink, printed on ten commerciallyavailable paper substrates. Interrelations and correlations betweenelectrical conductivity, print pattern definition and a set ofmeasured paper properties are analyzed with a multivariatestatistical method. The papers are characterized in terms ofabsorption rate, porosity, apparent surface energy, surfaceroughness and surface material content. The statistical analysisshows that electrical conductivity and print pattern definition arecorrelated. Conductivity and print definition are correlatedpositively with absorption rate and negatively with surfaceroughness. A model based on projection to latent structures (PLS) isbuilt from the measurement data, showing adequate values of modelfit and predictive ability. This suggests that the chosen propertiesand methods for surface characterization are relevant in estimatingoverall performance of inkjet-printed conductors on paper.Additionally, a qualitative examination of the nanoparticle layercharacteristic is conducted with SEM cross section microscopy.Some of the properties and mechanisms of importance to theconductivity of the printed conductors are highlighted, of whichsome are crucial for achieving conductivity. Physical characteristicsof a suitable paper surface should ideally include large absorptioncapability for the ink carrier, but most importantly, a characteristicpore size and surface roughness amplitude that are both smallcompared to the dry ink layer thickness. If these criteria are met,paper media can be a low cost, comparably high performancealternative for metal nanoparticle inks in printed electronics applications.

Inkjet-printed metal films are important within the emerging field of printed electronics. For large-scale manufacturing, low-cost flexible substrates and low temperature sintering is desired. Tailored coated substrates are interesting for roll-to-roll fabrication of printed electronics, since a suitable tailoring of the ink-substrate system may reduce, or remove, the need for explicit sintering. Here we utilize specially designed coated papers, containing chloride as an active sintering agent. The built-in sintering agent greatly assists low-temperature sintering of inkjet-printed AgNP films. Further, we examine the effect of variations in coating pore size and precoating type. Interestingly, we find that the sintering is substantially affected by these parameters.

Low-cost solution-processing of highly conductive films is important for the expanding market of printed electronics. For roll-to-roll manufacturing, suitable flexible substrates and compatible postprocessing are essential. Here, custom-developed coated papers are demonstrated to facilitate the inkjet fabrication of high performance copper patterns. The patterns are fabricated in ambient conditions using water-based CuO dispersion and intense pulsed light (IPL) processing. Papers using a porous CaCO3 precoating, combined with an acidic mesoporous absorption coating, improve the effectiveness and reliability of the IPL process. The processing is realizable within 5 ms, using a single pulse of light. A resistivity of 3.1 ± 0.12 μΩ·cm is achieved with 400 μm wide conductors, corresponding to more than 50% of the conductivity of bulk copper. This is higher than previously reported results for IPL-processed copper.

The widespread usage of paper and board offer largely unexploited possibilities for printed electronics applications. Reliability and performance of printed devices on comparatively rough and inhomogenous surfaces of paper does however pose challenges.Silver nanoparticle ink has been deposited on ten various paper substrates by inkjet printing. The papers are commercially available, and selected over a range of different types and construction. A smooth nonporous polyimide film was included as a nonporous reference substrate. The substrates have been characterized in terms of porosity, absorption rate, apparent surface energy, surface roughness and material content. The electrical conductivity of the resulting printed films have been measured after drying at 60°C and again after additional sintering at 110°C. A qualitative analysis of the conductivity differences on the different substrates based on surface characterization and SEM examination is presented. Measurable parameters of importance to the final conductivity are pointed out, some of which are crucial to achieve conductivity. When certain criteria of the surfaces are met, paper media can be used as low cost, but comparably high performance substrates for metal nanoparticle inks in printed electronics applications.