Dania Awni Alsaid

Doctoral Dissertation Announcement

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Candidate: Dania Awni Alsaid

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department: Paper Engineering, Chemical Engineering, and Imaging

Title: Gravure Printability of Indium Tin Oxide Nanoparticles on Glass and PET Films for Applications in Printed Electronics

Committee:
Dr. Margaret Joyce, Chair
Dr. Erika Rebrosova
Dr. Massood Atashbar
Dr. Marian Rebros

Date: Tuesday, November 6, 2012 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
College of Engineering and Applied Sciences, Room B-231

Abstract:
Advancements in the field of solution processable electro-active materials and their ability to be printed on different substrates have led to the evolution of printed electronics. In this field, electronic components are manufactured with conventional printing methods for the benefits of cost, time, and material savings.  Transparent electrodes made from indium tin oxide (ITO) are part of many electronic devices. Currently in the industry, highly conductive ITO films are prepared by sputtering. The sputtering and patterning of ITO films is a sophisticated process that consumes high energy, generates much waste and produces films with limited flexibility. Therefore, there is a need to investigate other processing methods for creating ITO films. Gravure printing is an excellent option for printing ITO nanoparticles. However, minimal research has been done to study the gravure printing process for producing ITO films or the properties of the films after printing and sintering.

This research investigates the gravure printability of ITO nanoparticles on polyethelene terephthalate (PET) and glass as a direct patterning process. On PET, a wide range of sheet resistivites and film thicknesses are obtained by varying the cell diameter and the aspect ratios (AR) of the engraved cells of the gravure cylinder. Regression analyses are run to determine the engraving specifications for the gravure cylinder needed to obtain the desired electrical performance for printed ITO films.  Printed films are highly flexible in compariosn to commercially available sputtered ITO films on PET.

Successful printing of ITO nanoparticles on glass is achieved using an AccuPress MicroGravure Printing system.  The printed films are sintered at high temperature using a Xenon photonic sintering system.  Electrical performance, transmission and surface roughness of the ITO films are analyzed. Successful results are obtained for the photonic sintered ITO nanoparticles on glass.  Photonic sintering greatly improves film processing efficiency. Time, and energy are saved and the process is suitable for roll-to-roll printing.  Through this work, the gravure printing process is shown to hold promise as a new manufacturing process for ITO films with the advantages of high volume, low cost, and more efficient use of material over the current sputtering process.