Improvements to the electrohydrodynamic jet printing process

Significant interest has been developed in micro- and nano-scale manufacturing in recent years, and Electrohydrodynamic Jet (E-Jet) printing offers unique advantages over other technologies in this field. In this thesis, we describe two individual improvements to E-jet printing which will increase its capabilities for micro- and nano-scale manufacturing. First, an investigation into new silver nanoparticle inks for use in electronics printing yielded 4-20 µm lines with resistivities around ten times that of bulk silver. The printed performance is demonstrated to be promising for microscale additive manufacturing. Specific obstacles and solutions unique to E-jet printing of conductive inks which are presented here so as to be useful in ink selection and tuning. Secondly, we also present a gray-box switched-system model for the trajectory of a jet during the printing process which accurately captures features observed through high-speed imaging. This model is simple and flexible enough to be useful for variety of applications. The contributions presented in this thesis are intended to advance E-jet technology for both academic and commercial use.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S.

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Mechanical Engineering

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2013

Author dc:creator

• Mannen, Sarah

Contributors dc:contributor

• Alleyne, Andrew G.

• Electrohydrodynamic Jet Printing
• Micromanufacturing
• Silver Printing
• Jet Cycle Modeling

Statement dc:rights

• Copyright 2013 Sarah Mannen

Language dc:language

en

Handle dc:identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/2142/45375

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/45375