APPLYING NANOPARTICLES VIA DIRECT-WRITE TECHNOLOGY FOR INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS

摘要

Maskless Meso-Scale Material (M3D) is a Direct Write technology that uses nano-particle inks to build micron-scale electronic prototypes. The term mesoscale refers to sizes from approximately 10 microns to 1000 microns, and covers the range between geometries deposited with the more conventional thin film and thick film processes. The M3D process begins with the atomization of a liquid molecular precursor or a colloidal suspension of metal, dielectric, ferrite, or resistor powder. The aerosol stream is delivered to a deposition head using a carrier gas. The stream is then surrounded by a co-axial sheath air flow, and exits the chamber through an orifice directed at the substrate. This co-axial flow focuses the aerosol stream onto the substrate and allows for deposition of features with dimensions as small as 10 microns. In a typical configuration, the substrate is attached to a high precision CAD/CAM driven platen, so that intricate geometries may be deposited. Either laser chemical decomposition or thermal treatment is used to process the deposit to the desired state. Application of the M3D process to the production of direct write inductors, capacitors, and resistors is presented, along with electrical characterization of these components.