Influence of post-treatment strategies in Inkjet printing on the morphology of layers and the functional performances of electronic devices

Abstract

A UV curable ink is deposited on substrates by Inkjet technology with constant jetting parameters and identical digital images. As the ink is composed of non evaporating liquids the patterns stay wet until being exposed to UV light. This enables the precise control of the transition from the liquid to the solid phase. By adjusting the time scales and energy levels of the post-treatment processes diverse pattern morphologies with different three-dimensional profiles are generated. We investigate the influence of the employed post-treatment strategies on 3D-functionalities. In addition, different treated UV ink layers are used in simple electronic devices and characterized by their performance. The results reveal exemplarily the significance of the process steps after the deposition of each single drop. ©2012 Society for Imaging Science and Technology.