Comparison between electroplating and electroless plating method with inkjet printing for conductive line patterning

Abstract

In this thesis, the conductive lines were fabricated by combination of inkjet printing with electroplating and electroless plating method. The conductive lines of silver nanoparticles ink were written by drop-on-demand piezo electric. Then, heat treatment at 150oC was performed. Electroplating was carried out to form a copper layer on top of the silver pattern previously printed. We investigated the effects of metal content in silver nanoparticles ink, and determined the optimal metal loading with appropriate electrical resistivity and surface roughness to be used as seed layer. Moreover, the effect of voltage and plating time applied in electroplating process, and the effect of plating time applied in electroless plating at pH 7 were also studied. The conductive lines fabricated were characterized by a two-point probe, scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive x-ray microanalyzer, x-ray diffractrometer (XRD) and atomic force microscopy (AFM) to confirm the electrical resistivity, microstructure, crystal structure, shape, surface property, adhesion between metal and substrate and aspect ratio.