A wide range of electronic materials can be printed onto diverse substrates to realise multi-functional electronic performance. As such, the large-area electronics industry eagerly desires reliable, fast and low cost, in-line quality control for continuous, high-speed, sheet-to-sheet printing. The IQ-PET project investigated whether the detection of reflected THz radiation might yield spectroscopic information and 3D images to advance quality control systems that can operate in high-speed sheet-to-sheet and roll-to-roll production lines for system level integration in large-area electronics manufacturing.
Project Objectives
- Investigate changes in THz spectra at each stage of the UV Offset printing process for electrically conductive and dielectric inks - and so provide guidance on placement of THz sensors for achieving optimal real-time quality control of printed electronic ink.
- Develop software and hardware to investigate the potential of using THz based quality control within high-speed sheet-to-sheet and roll-to-roll production lines.
Key Achievements
- Demonstrated 4 types of THz based quality control prototypes and data analysis software packages - comparing pros and cons. See paper published in Organic Electronics: here.
- Demonstrated that THz radiation can supply the imaging mapping, and further quantified dielectric and conductive parameters, that other technologies cannot offer.
- Developed software and hardware that can be amended to produce industrial practice prototypes. (Nano Products Ltd was closely involved with this project and were very satisfied with the quantified dielectric analysis of their inked products at different stages.)
Collaborator
Other Pathfinders
SIMLIFT – Towards single micron LIFT technology
MFBBN – Multiphoton Fabrication of Bioelectronic Biomaterials for Neuromodulation
ITAPPE – Interconnection Technologies for integration of Active devices with Printed Plastic Electronics
LAFLEXEL – Laser Annealing for improved FLEXible Electronics
Stable Nanowires – Spray coated nanowires: enhanced stability for touch sensing and solar cell applications
FlexEn – Flexible Printed Energy Storage
OPCAP – Offset lithographic printing of nanocomposite barium titanate capacitors
pNeuron – Printed Electronics for Neuromorphic Computing