Objective: Develop an efficient and accurate model to characterize and predict the 3D printed patterns’ conductivity based on the Intense Pulse Light (IPL) sintering process settings (e.g., number of pulses, pulse duration, etc.) using a Deep Gaussian Process (DGP) approach.

Project description:

Aerosol jet printing (AJP) (Fig. 1 (a)) is an additive manufacturing (AM) technique that has attracted great attention for printed electronics due to its capability to print a wide range of materials onto complex surfaces [1]. It possesses the capability to incorporate electronic components within three-dimensional structures, rendering it well-suited for applications necessitating adaptability and versatility in design [2]. However, a post-printing sintering step is required in AJP-printed electronics to decompose the organic additives in the ink, fuse the metallic nanoparticles, and render the traces’ conductivity [3]. Among the sintering processes, the IPL sintering method (Fig. 1 (b)) is an appealing option because of its outstanding features, namely high conductivity, good adhesion, short processing times, and good scalability to large-scale fabrication [4]. Nevertheless, achieving optimal results requires meticulous tuning of the IPL process parameters to control the device’s features and prevent substrate damage. A variety of studies have investigated the effect of various IPL process parameters on printed devices’ performance based on experimental observations and numerical characterization [5], [6]. However, these approaches require cost-intensive experiments and time-consuming simulations, respectively. Hence, we propose a DGP conductivity model to characterize the printed traces' conductivity using limited experimental IPL process settings data and predict the conductivity for unseen IPL parameters. Furthermore, the model can quantify the conductivity uncertainty.

Data to be collected: 3D printed traces conductivity. 

[1] N. Wilkinson, M. Smith, R. Kay, and R. Harris, “A review of aerosol jet printing—a non-traditional hybrid process for micro-manufacturing,” The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology, vol. 105, 2019.

[2] J. A. Paulsen, M. Renn, K. Christenson, and R. Plourde, “Printing conformal electronics on 3D structures with aerosol jet technology,” in 2012 Future of Instrumentation International Workshop (FIIW) Proceedings. IEEE, 2012.

[3] A. Roshanghias, M. Krivec, and M. Baumgart, “Sintering strategies for inkjet printed metallic traces in 3D printed electronics,” Flexible and Printed Electronics, vol. 2, 2017.

[4] J. Niittynen, R. Abbel, M. M ̈antysalo, J. Perelaer, U. S. Schubert, and D. Lupo, “Alternative sintering methods compared to conventional thermal sintering for inkjet-printed silver nanoparticle ink,” Thin Solid Films, vol. 556, 2014.

[5] C. Ferris, D. Ratnayake, A. Curry, D. Wei, E. Gerber, T. Druffel, and K. Walsh, “Characterizing the conductivity of aerosol jet printed silver traces on glass using intense pulsed light (ipl),” in International Manufacturing Science and Engineering Conference, vol. 85802. American Society of Mechanical Engineers, 2022.

[6] X. Li, M. Lei, Q. Mu, and K. Ren, “Thermo-mechanical modeling of thermal stress during multi-cycle intense pulsed light sintering of thick conductive wires on 3D printed dark substrate,” Results in Physics, vol. 44, 2023.

Fig. 1 Illustration of the printing electronics process: (a) AJP stage, (b) IPL sintering stage.