This new manufacturing technique uses a roll-to-roll process similar to that commonly used in newspaper printing to produce smoother, softer metal lines for the production of high-speed electronic devices.
This low-cost process, developed by Purdue University researchers, combines tools and methods for large-scale metal processing in existing industrial production. R&D personnel use a roll-to-roll printing process similar to newspaper printing. The speed and precision of the process overcomes many of the difficulties in the manufacturing process of electronic products. Compared with the present, this process greatly increases the production speed of electronic devices.
Mobile phones, laptops, tablets and many other electronic devices rely on their internal metal circuitry for high-speed processing of information. Current methods of metal wiring are generally made by passing thin liquid metal droplets through a target line. Shaped reticle to form a metal line, which is a bit like graffiti on the wall.
'The problem, however, is that the metal lines produced by this technology have a very rough surface, which causes the electronics to heat up more quickly and drain the battery faster,' said Martinez, an industrial engineering and biomedical engineering assistant professor. .
In addition, future high-speed electronic devices require smaller metal components, and the production of smaller nano-scale metal components requires higher resolution.
'Making smaller and smaller shapes of metal components requires more and higher resolution molds, up to nanometer size,' Martinez said. 'Moreover, the latest advances in nanotechnology also require us to scale even Patterning the smaller particles of their particles, it is like making sandcastles smaller than sand.'
This so-called 'Formability Limit' prevents us from processing materials at high speeds at nanometer resolution.
Researchers at Purdue University have solved these two problems—roughness and low resolution—through a new scale-based manufacturing approach that makes it possible to make nanoscale smooth metal wires with traditional CO2 lasers. Lasers are very common in industrial cutting and engraving.
'Printing tiny metal electronic devices like printed newspapers can make them smoother. This smooth surface electronics has a very low risk of overheating and can pass currents better,' Martinez said.
This manufacturing method is called Roll to Roll laser-induced superplasticity, which uses a rolling stamper like a high-speed newspaper. This technology can be used in a short time. The application of high-energy laser irradiation induces the 'superplasticity' of various metals, which allows the metal to flow into the pattern of nanoscale features of the rolling stamper – which bypasses the 'formability limit'.
'In the future, using our technology for manufacturing equipment based on a roll-to-roll process, we can produce touch screens that cover nanostructures that interact with light and generate 3D images. Of course, this technology can also be cost-effectively Making more sensitive biosensors,' Martinez said.