디지털 프린팅 용액 공정 소재 개발 동향

Printed electronics using printing process has broadened in all respects such as electrics (lighting, batteries, solar cells etc) as well as electronics (OLED, LCD, E-paper, transistor etc). Copper is considered to be a promising alternative to silver for printed electronics, due to very high conductivity at a low price. However, Copper is easily oxidized, and its oxide is non-conductive. This is the highest hurdle for making copper inks, since the heat and humidity that occurs during ink making and printing simply accelerates the oxidation process. A variety of chemical treatments including organic capping agents and metallic coating have been used to slow this oxidation. We have established synthetic conditions of copper nanoparticles (CuNPs) which are resistant to oxidation and average diameter of 20 to 50nm. Specific resistivity should be less than $4\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$ when sintered at lower temperature than $250^{\circ}C$ to be able to apply to conductive patterns of FPCBs using ink-jet printing. Through this study, the parameters to control average diameter of CuNPs were found to be the introduction of additive agent, the feeding rate of reducing agent, and reaction temperature. The CuNPs with various average diameters (58, 40, 26, 20nm) could be synthesized by controlling these parameters. The dispersed solution of CuNPs with an average size of 20 nm was made with nonpolar solvent containing 3 wt% of binder, and then coated onto glass substrate. After sintering the coated substrates at $250^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes in nitrogen atmosphere, metallic copper film resulted in a specific resistivity of $4.2\;{\mu}{\Omega}{\cdot}cm$.