Review of digital printing technologies for electronic materials

Direct printing methods have been used as manufacturing tools for printed electronics applications due to their cost effectiveness. In this review, the piezo-driven inkjet is discussed in detail since it is a mature technology and suitable for the production printing of printed electronics. In addition, other printing methods are considered for using higher viscosity ink and for producing smaller printed feature size. Various direct printing methods are compared in terms of jet mechanism, printing algorithm, and their applications. In particular high resolution printing methods using high viscosity inks, such as electrohydrodynamic jet, aerosol jet and micro-plotter are reviewed. To understand the recent status of industrial printing applications, display (liquid crystal display and organic light emitting diode) materials and printing issues are discussed. Finally, a brief overview of nano-particle metal based conductive inks is included because these inks have been widely used for printed electronics applications.