Improving Conductivity and Performance of 3D-Printed Metals
Published on : Tuesday 21-04-2020
The capabilities of 3D printing technology have been advancing at a constant pace for the last few years. 3D printing generally creates physical objects from a geometrical representation by successive addition of materials.
The technology is a fast-emerging technology, and today it is widely being used for mass customization, production of any kinds of open-source designs in the field of agriculture, healthcare, automotive, locomotive and aviation. 3D printing has transformed the way of manufacturing by designing complex structures in a customized feature that cannot be understood by traditional processing methods.
Recently, an electrical engineering research team led by Chao Wang and Yu Yao, assistant professors of electrical, computer and energy engineering in the Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering at Arizona State University, have developed a novel additive manufacturing technique. Unlike existing techniques, this can print continuous and smooth films with high electrical and optical performance while at room temperature and at low costs, something never done before, Chao Wang noted.
The 3D printing process is based on optical projection, similar to playing movies using a projector, to create programmed ultraviolet light illumination in a precursor solution, which is used to catalyze a chemical reaction. The UV light triggers photochemical reactions for metal nucleation and growth. The research team also added a small amount of polymer with many ligands (groups of chemicals) into a precursor solution at the start of 3D printing process. The ligands interact with synthesized particles to surmount their electrostatic repulsion, which is constructive in stabilizing particles during synthesis but foils them from connecting into a smooth film, Wang says.
Effective 3D Printed Conductive Pastes for RF and High-Performance Electronics
For the realization of advanced materials, 3D printing technologies are evolving from single material to composite materials manufacturing by simply delivering the nano- and micro-reinforcements with the matrix. However, the low conductivity of 3D printed conductive lines is a major impediment in successful 3D printed electronics.
This low conductivity of 3D printed conductive lines leads to lossy transmission lines, feebly performing antennas, and draw several challenges from a circuit design perspective. To address these challenges, two techniques are demonstrated for improving the conductivity of 3D printed silver paste, photonic sintering and selective electroplating.
In the coming years, 3D printing technology will be effective in producing metallic contacts for different electronic, optoelectronic and bio-sensing devices. Additionally, substantial investments in the intensity of research and development efforts also improve the performance of 3D printing technology.