Direct fabrication of copper patterns by reactive inkjet printing

Reactive inkjet printing (RIP) was applied to fabricate arbitrary copper (Cu) patterns. RIP prints reactive inks which can provide desired materials after the reaction on a substrate. Here, Cu precursors and reducing agents were dissolved together in one solution as a printable ink instead of conventional Cu nanoparticle inks. The prepared reactive ink was applied to the RIP method to provide dot arrays, lines, and films of Cu. The synthesis of Cu was confirmed to occur successfully by thorough analysis. The RIP method can reduce the process cost and resolve critical drawbacks of the conventional inkjet printing such as a nozzle clogging problem. Furthermore, utilizing reactive precursor inks broadens the choice of materials that can be processed by inkjet printing. (C) 2013 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.