Abstract:

For the problems of the current flexible metal interconnect conductor based on the inkjet printing-based printed electronics technology, such as easy clogging of nozzles, poor accuracy of conductor lines, and the process requires heating, a reliable and low-cost flexible metal interconnect conductor is proposed, which is the method of preparing metal interconnect conductor by combining the roll-to-roll printing process and the chemical deposition technique. The flexible substrate material used herein is Teslin paper, which has more excellent mechanical strength and water resistance than ordinary paper. A roll-to-roll flexography machine is used to print the metal interconnect conductor pattern on the flexible substrate material. The ink film on the substrate is dried by ultraviolet curing technology, and the metal copper conductor is obtained on the substrate surface by chemical deposition technology. The advantage of this craft is that the prepared metal copper conductor has high accuracy and the process do not require high temperature equipment. In addition, since a roll-to-roll flexography printing machine is utilized, it has the prospect of large-scale flow production in the industry. The SEM, XRD, EDS and adhesion test of the metal layer of the metal interconnect conductor prove that the surface of the metal layer of the interconnect conductor has advantages including dense surface, high crystallinity, good adhesion, low resistivity (2.62×10^-8Ω·cm), and excellent mechanical properties (1 000 bending test).

Key words: printed electronics, paper substrate, roll-to-roll flexography, chemical deposition, metal interconnect conductor, UV curing, flexibility, RFID label