Electrical Characterization of Screen-Printed Conductive Circuit with Silver Nanopaste

Abstract

This study examined the effects of the sintering conditions on the microstructure and electrical characteristics of screen printed Ag patterns. A conducting paste containing Ag nanoparticles (73 wt %) was screen printed onto a quartz wafer and sintered under a range of conditions, e.g., sintering temperature of 150, 200, 250, and 300 °C, and time of 15, 30, 45, and 60 min. The microstructure and thickness profile of the sintered patterns was examined using an environmental scanning electron microscope and three-dimensional nano-scan viewer. A network analyzer and Cascade's probe system in the frequency range of 10 MHz to 20 GHz were also used to measure the S-parameters of the sintered Ag conducting patterns. The resistivity under the application of a direct current (DC) signal decreased with increasing temperature and time. From the measured S-parameters, the electrical losses decreased with increasing sintering temperature due to the formation of an interparticle neck after heat treatment at high temperatures. However, sintering at 200 °C had no significant effect on the return and insertion losses of the printed patterns.