Progress of alternative sintering approaches of inkjet-printed metal inks and their application for manufacturing of flexible electronic devices

Well-defined high resolution structures with excellent electrical conductivities are key components of almost every electronic device. Producing these by printing metal based conductive inks on polymer foils represents an important step forward towards the manufacturing of plastic electronic products on an industrial scale. The development of fast, efficient and inexpensive post-deposition sintering technologies for these materials is an important processing step to make this approach commercially viable. This review discusses the advances in alternative sintering approaches for conductive, metal containing inks, which can be processed by inkjet-printing processes. Each sintering approach is examined regarding its mechanism, its compatibility with commonly used materials in the field of flexible electronics, its compatibility with high-throughput manufacturing processes and its applicability to the production of flexible electronic devices.