Industrial-scale inkjet printing of functional inks for diagnostics and electronics: Invited talk

Inkjet printing is a suitable printing method for fabricating functional devices and solutions for diagnostics and electronics purposes. As an additive and non-contact method it enables multi-layer printing on a variety of substrates in high-speed - even in roll-to-roll production. Another benefit is that activation of the functional device can be done at the correct time - for example in packaging applications during product packing. Compared to graphic arts inks functional inks provide new challenges to both ink and process development. The most important aspects to consider are how to maintain functionality of the ink during printing process and how to achieve reliable drop formation. Functional inks also have higher requirements for adhesion, missing dots and optical print quality than graphic arts inks. In addition, up-scaling issues when moving from laboratory-scale to industrial-scale are important. This presentation will focus on potential of inkjet printing in printed functionality and present some of the inkjet printed functional solutions developed at VTT for diagnostics and electronics applications such as printed quality indicators and conductor grids. Printability, performance and up-scaling issues of these technologies will be considered.