News & HighlightsContinuous Ink Jet Printing of Antenna and Die Connections
Michael Lovell, Marlin H. Mickle, James T. Cain There are two inkjet printing technologies: drop on demand (DOD) and continuous ink jet (CIJ). The CIJ process is one where characters are printed in a matrix form as seen commonly on grocery items with a date and lot number. The matrix is achieved from a single stream of ink drops being charged and then deflected to produce one dimension of the matrix with the other produced by mechanical motion. These systems are a combination of Fluid, Electrical and Mechanical Systems that the University of Pittsburgh has done a thorough analysis of the mathematical, simulation and fabrication to produce working devices and systems now in use in industry. Fluid Electro Mechanical Systems (FEMS) is an emerging area of engineering research. One embodiment is the application of continuous ink jet (CIJ) printing that provides an illustration of the elements of a FEMS system and demonstrates the interdependence of the mechanical, electrical, materials and chemical engineering disciplines. In CIJ, (1) a low viscosity fluid is (2) pumped to (3) a pressure vessel which is (4) modulated by (5) a smart material by (6) a controlled electrical signal that aids in (7) formation of fluid drops (about 3 pico-liters) through (8) an orifice (? 10's of microns) that are (9) electrically charged by (10) a voltage signal and subsequently (11) detected and (12) deflected to form (13) a raster on (14) a substrate. The illustration in the insert shows CIJ ink drops of less than 10 pico liters being produced at a rate of 80,000 drops per second (see insert) and traveling a total distance of 10 centimeters to the substrate while undergoing electronic deflection. The key issue is obtaining an actuator that produces optimum deflection at the desired frequency of operation and for the specified ink properties. Preliminary work on this device, however, has been primarily empirical and has focused on printing one particular material in a specified manner. In this research we have carried out a more thorough analytical study to provide general understanding of how to design a diaphragm actuator for a variety of situations. A highly sophisticated simulation of the CIJ process has been developed using ANSYS. The research continues to build on this initial model with experimental verification of the predicted results. Through initial funding from the National Science Foundation, Matthews International and PPG, the investigators have been able to overcome several fundamental technological challenges related to the CIJ printing process. In fact, over the past two years, the investigators have successfully designed and constructed a fully functional prototype system that is capable of printing electronic circuitry. This has not only included the development of all hardware and software components, but also the development of novel diode materials and inorganic silver ink formulations that produce traces with a conductivity 1/3 that of pure silver. The current efforts have also produced electronic components such as traces, diodes and transistors on a variety of substrates including glass and polymers. These printing system and material developments represent a significant achievement by the investigators. The technology has reached a level where the printing system hardware has been sent to customers by a local company to conduct field studies and the process itself is being considered as an alternative method for producing conductive lines on automotive glass. |
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