One-step inkjet printing of conductive silver tracks on polymer substrates

A one-step process to fabricate conductive features on flexible polymer substrates by inkjet printing an organometallic silver ink directly onto a substrate that is heated to 130 degrees C is presented. This process led to the immediate sintering of the printed features. The samples were left for 5 min at elevated temperature, which resulted in conductive silver features with a resistivity of eight times the bulk silver value. The combination of this ink and the simultaneous printing/sintering process opens up routes for the direct fabrication of conductive features on common polymer substrates that could be applied, for example, in roll-to-roll production of flexible microelectronic systems.