Curvature programmed inkjet printing enables adaptive deposition for Gaussian sintering lasers

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Additive Manufacturing
• Laser Processing

Background:

• Laser beams possess a Gaussian intensity distribution, leading to defects like ablation and porosity during sintering and melting.
• Current methods to modulate laser intensity, such as beam shapers, are costly, lack durability, and cause energy loss.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop an effective and economical strategy to mitigate laser-induced defects in additive manufacturing.
• To enhance the performance of semiconducting and metallic circuits fabricated using laser processing.

Main Methods:

• Proposed a thickness-matching strategy to align film geometry with the laser intensity profile.
• Utilized mathematical analysis to determine optimal film thickness distribution.
• Employed inkjet printing with computable parameters to create curved circuits with ideal profiles.

Main Results:

• Achieved significant improvements in indium tin oxide (ITO) conductive glass: 3.8-fold increase in conductance and 5.1% increase in transmittance compared to planar circuits.
• Demonstrated a 160% improvement in electrical conductivity for copper (Cu) conformal circuits versus planar circuits.
• Validated the effectiveness of curved profiles for both semiconducting and metallic applications.

Conclusions:

• The thickness-matching strategy offers a practical and high-performance additive manufacturing route for conformal circuits.
• This method overcomes the limitations of traditional beam shaping techniques.
• The developed technique enables the fabrication of advanced electronic components with superior properties.