Generative Multimodal Multiscale Data Fusion for Digital Twins in Aerosol Jet Electronics Printing

The rising demand for high-value electronics necessitates advanced manufacturing techniques capable of meeting stringent specifications for precise, complex, and compact devices, driving the shift toward innovative additive manufacturing (AM) solutions. Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) is a versatile AM technique that utilizes aerosolized functional materials to accurately print intricate patterns onto diverse substrates. Machine learning (ML)- based Process-Structure-Property (PSP) modeling is essential for enhancing AJP manufacturing, as it quantitatively connects process parameters, structural features, and resulting material properties. However, current ML approaches for modeling PSP relationships in AJP face significant limitations in handling multimodal and multiscale data, underscoring a critical need for generative methods capable of comprehensive analysis through multimodal and multiscale fusion. To address this challenge, this study introduces a novel generative modeling methodology leveraging diffusion models for PSP data fusion in AJP. The proposed method integrates multimodal, multiscale PSP features in two phases: (1) registering the features, and (2) fusing them to generate causal relationships between PSP attributes. A case study demonstrates the registration and fusion of optical microscopy (OM) images and confocal profilometry (CP) data from AJP, along with the fine-tuning of the fusion step. The results effectively capture complex PSP relationships, offering deeper insights into digital twins of dynamic manufacturing systems.