Spreading and drying impact on printed pattern accuracy due to phase separation of a colloidal ink

Zhi Tao (1, 2) , Brice Le Borgne (2) , Tayeb Mohammed-Brahim (2) , Emmanuel Jacques (2) , Maxime Harnois (2)

1 SEU - Nanjing Southeast University
2 IETR - Institut d'Électronique et des Technologies du numéRique

Drop-on-demand inkjet printing relies on the dispensing and precise positioning of very small amount of liquid on substrate before its transformation to a solid. Consequently, many steps are involved during inkjet printing process that must be understood to fabricate accurate patterns. In this work, multicomponent colloidal mixture spreading and drying is investigated. A systematic study has been performed to explain the impact of the jetting frequency, the drop spacing and the substrate exposure to UV ozone on a colloidal silver ink behavior. It is demonstrated that phase separation between stabilizing agent and colloids can occur during the spreading step. This phenomenon is described and appears to be related to the colloidal nature of the ink. It is shown that it can have a negative impact on patterns accuracy and several routes are given to overcome these issues.

Keywords: Printed Patterns Accuracy; Colloidal Ink; Ink Drying; Phase Separation; Inkjet Printing

Domains: Engineering Sciences [physics]; Micro and nanotechnologies/Microelectronics; Engineering Sciences [physics]; Chemical and Process Engineering

Zhi Tao, Brice Le Borgne, Tayeb Mohammed-Brahim, Emmanuel Jacques, Maxime Harnois. Spreading and drying impact on printed pattern accuracy due to phase separation of a colloidal ink. Colloid and Polymer Science, 2018, 296 (11), pp.1749-1758. ⟨10.1007/s00396-018-4372-1⟩. ⟨hal-01894675⟩