Plasma-Jet Printing and In Situ Sintering of Electronic Materials for Flexible Hybrid Electronic Applications

Plasma-jet printing (PJP) is a novel alternative additive manufacturing (AM) method to popular 2D printing techniques s! uch as inkjet and aerosol jet printing. Additive manufacturing offers a low-cost and flexible alternative to traditional electronics manufacturing for some applications by offering rapid and inexpensive prototyping and using only the materials needed, reducing pollutants and waste. The addition of plasma to the AM process can provide films with good adhesion upon printing without the need for post-processing. There is also the added benefit of gravity-independent deposition for electronics manufacturing in space and microgravity environments. We explore the mechanisms of plasm! a-jet printing and comparison to other printing methods. The PJP was optimized, and thermoelectric materials ink was printed. The quality of PJP films was evaluated as well as the thermoelectric performance of the deposited films. Metallic nanoparticle inks were also deposited onto high and low-temperature substrates and sintered on the PJP without needing any thermal or UV post-processing.

MAJOR ADVISOR: Harish Subbaraman
COMMITTEE: Nirmala Kandadai
COMMITTEE: Tom Weller
COMMITTEE: David Estrada
GCR: William Warns