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High-resolution electrohydrodynamic jet printing

Nature Materials volume 6, pages 782–789 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Efforts to adapt and extend graphic arts printing techniques for demanding device applications in electronics, biotechnology and microelectromechanical systems have grown rapidly in recent years. Here, we describe the use of electrohydrodynamically induced fluid flows through fine microcapillary nozzles for jet printing of patterns and functional devices with submicrometre resolution. Key aspects of the physics of this approach, which has some features in common with related but comparatively low-resolution techniques for graphic arts, are revealed through direct high-speed imaging of the droplet formation processes. Printing of complex patterns of inks, ranging from insulating and conducting polymers, to solution suspensions of silicon nanoparticles and rods, to single-walled carbon nanotubes, using integrated computer-controlled printer systems illustrates some of the capabilities. High-resolution printed metal interconnects, electrodes and probing pads for representative circuit patterns and functional transistors with critical dimensions as small as 1 μm demonstrate potential applications in printed electronics.

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Figure 1: Nozzle structures and schematic diagrams of a high-resolution e-jet printer.
Figure 2: Time-lapse images of the pulsating liquid meniscus in one cycle at V/H=3.5 V μm−1.
Figure 3: Optical micrographs and SEM images of various images formed with different inks.
Figure 4: High-resolution e-jet printing with printed feature sizes in the range from ∼240 nm to ∼5 μm.
Figure 5: Patterns of electrode structures for a ring oscillator and isolated transistors formed by e-jet printing of a photocurable polyurethane ink that acts as an etch resist for a uniform underlying layer of metal (Au/Cr).
Figure 6: Fabrication of perfectly aligned SWNT-TFTs on a plastic substrate with e-jet printing for the critical features, that is, the source and drain electrodes.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank L. Jang and M. Nayfeh for supplying Si nanoparticle solutions, R. Shepherd and J. Lewis for the use of their high-speed camera, and R. Lin for assistance with setting initial experimental conditions. In addition, the authors acknowledge the Center for Nanoscale Chemical Electrical Mechanical Manufacturing Systems in the University of Illinois, which is funded by the National Science Foundation under grant DMI-0328162, and the Center for Microanalysis of Materials in University of Illinois, which is partially supported by the US Department of Energy under grant DEFG02-91-ER45439.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Beckman Institute, and Frederick Seitz Materials Research Laboratory, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1304 West Green Street, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

    Jang-Ung Park, Matt Hardy, Seong Jun Kang & John A. Rogers

  2. Division of Advanced Technology, Korea Research Institute of Standards and Science, 1 Doryong-Dong, Yuseong-Gu, Daejon 305-340, South Korea

    Seong Jun Kang

  3. Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

    Kira Barton, Kurt Adair, Deep kishore Mukhopadhyay, Andrew G. Alleyne, John G. Georgiadis, Placid M. Ferreira & John A. Rogers

  4. Department of Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering, and Beckman Institute, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, Illinois 61801, USA

    Chang Young Lee & Michael S. Strano

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  1. Jang-Ung Park
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Contributions

J.-U.P. and J.A.R. designed the experiments and wrote the paper. J.-U.P. carried out the nozzle fabrication, ink design, printing and characterization. S.J.K. and J.-U.P. contributed to device fabrication. K.B., K.A., D.K.M., A.G.A. and P.M.F. designed the printing machine and contributed to project planning. J.G.G. was responsible for hydrodynamics analysis and project planning. C.Y.L. and M.S.S. synthesized SWNT solutions. M.H. developed the software algorithm and measured contact angles.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to John A. Rogers.

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The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary information, table S1 and figures S1-S3 (PDF 223 kb)

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Park, JU., Hardy, M., Kang, S. et al. High-resolution electrohydrodynamic jet printing. Nature Mater 6, 782–789 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat1974

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