Experimental method for low-temperature sintering of nano-Ag inks using electrical excitation

Conductive inks market for printable electronic grows rapidly last years. The main disadvantage of using inks filled with nano-Ag particles is sintering process, which often requires relatively high temperatures (over 180°C). This forces the use of expensive, high temperature substrates, for example polyimide foils. In some applications it is unacceptable to subject substrate to high temperature, which prevents or hinders the use of common silver inks. An experimental method for low-temperature sintering was investigated and presented in this paper. Electric field was applied to the sample and current flow induced to initiate the sintering process instead of commonly used high-temperature heating or light pulses.