Fluid characterisation and drop impact in inkjet printing for organic semiconductor devices
type: CreativeWork
description: An inkjet printer can deposit a very small volume of liquid with high positional accuracy, high speed and low cost. As a maskless, non-contact additive patterning method, inkjet printing technology is increasingly being explored as an alternative to lithography, etching and vapour deposition processes to pattern electrical conductors and thin films with applications in printed electronic devices. The functional inks used in many of the applications involve non-linear viscoelasticity and their behaviours in the context of inkjet printing have not been fully understood. This thesis aims to characterise Newtonian and non-Newtonian properties of inkjet fluids and identify the key parameters affecting drop impact and spreading processes. Various fluid characterisation techniques such as the filament stretching rheometer and piezoelectric axial vibrator are explored. We propose an experimental method to assess the jettability of non-Newtonian inkjet fluids, without using an inkjet print head. The oblique collision of two continuous liquid jets leads to the formation of a thin oval liquid sheet bounded by a thicker rim which disintegrates into ligaments and droplets. Under certain conditions the flow structure exhibits a remarkably symmetrical “fishbone” pattern composed of a regular succession of longitudinal ligaments and droplets. Good correlation was found between the maximum included angle of the fishbone pattern and the maximum ligament length in the jetting experiments, which suggests that a test based on oblique impinging jets may be useful in the development of fluids for ink jet printing. High-speed imaging is used to analyse the impact and spreading of sub-30 μm drops of diethyl phthalate or polystyrene solutions in diethyl phthalate on to smooth glass surfaces with controlled wettability at speeds from 3 to 8 m s-1, under conditions representative of drop-on-demand inkjet printing. Data on drop height and spreading diameter are generated with high time and spat…
abstract: An inkjet printer can deposit a very small volume of liquid with high positional accuracy, high speed and low cost. As a maskless, non-contact additive patterning method, inkjet printing technology is increasingly being explored as an alternative to lithography, etching and vapour deposition processes to pattern electrical conductors and thin films with applications in printed electronic devices. The functional inks used in many of the applications involve non-linear viscoelasticity and their behaviours in the context of inkjet printing have not been fully understood. This thesis aims to characterise Newtonian and non-Newtonian properties of inkjet fluids and identify the key parameters affecting drop impact and spreading processes. Various fluid characterisation techniques such as the filament stretching rheometer and piezoelectric axial vibrator are explored. We propose an experimental method to assess the jettability of non-Newtonian inkjet fluids, without using an inkjet print head. The oblique collision of two continuous liquid jets leads to the formation of a thin oval liquid sheet bounded by a thicker rim which disintegrates into ligaments and droplets. Under certain conditions the flow structure exhibits a remarkably symmetrical “fishbone” pattern composed of a regular succession of longitudinal ligaments and droplets. Good correlation was found between the maximum included angle of the fishbone pattern and the maximum ligament length in the jetting experiments, which suggests that a test based on oblique impinging jets may be useful in the development of fluids for ink jet printing. High-speed imaging is used to analyse the impact and spreading of sub-30 μm drops of diethyl phthalate or polystyrene solutions in diethyl phthalate on to smooth glass surfaces with controlled wettability at speeds from 3 to 8 m s-1, under conditions representative of drop-on-demand inkjet printing. Data on drop height and spreading diameter are generated with high time and spat…
author: Jung, Sungjune
language: eng
keywords: Inkjet printing, Drop impact
license: https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/d2efda6c-9f92-4af7-b9a6-ebdfd8c66957/download
license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/uk/
date published: 2011-07-12
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:24:10Z
provider: Cambridge University
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Cambridge

PropertyValue
property ID: DOI
value: 10.17863/CAM.14014