Study on Improving Uniformity of Ag Printed Electric Line through Vacuum Annealing and Resulting Reduction in Heat Generation and High-Temperature Environmental Durability

Electronic printing processes are gaining attention as next-generation eco-friendly patterning processes that can replace conventional patterning processes in semiconductor manufacturing that cause harmful problems and large amounts of pollutants.In the formation of patterned thin films by the electronic printing process, the unevenness of the film caused by the coffee ring effect, affects the performance of the device, and requires the identification of a process method for uniform film formation.In this study, Ag ink was printed with a dispenser to form an electrical line, and a thin film was formed by splitting the solvent drying temperature for 5 min and the ambient heat treatment conditions for 5 min.The uniformity of the thin film was analyzed, and the voltage-heat generation characteristics of the electric line and the shape retention ability of the thin film in a high-temperature environment were examined according to the uniformity of the thin film.Vacuum-annealing could create a uniform thin film.When evaluating the heat generation characteristics using a maximum applied voltage of 5V, the electrical conduction for a uniform thin film showed 83.1C, whereas the coffee ring effect caused the electrical conduction for a non-uniform thin film to show 105C heat generation.This showed that electrical conduction with a uniform thin film resulted in a 26% reduction in heat generation characteristics.In addition, it was confirmed that the printed electrical line with a uniform thin film had little change in shape at high temperatures.This confirms that a uniform thin film can suppress the heat generation of the conductor and cause little deformation in