Inkjet Printing: Fabrication of Transparent Multilayer Circuits by Inkjet Printing (Adv. Mater. 7/2016)

By inkjet-printing silver-nanoparticle ink into a liquid substrate, Y. Song and co-workers fabricate conductive microcables that are embedded in a transparent film, in work described on page 1420. By controlling the spreading of the ink droplet and the rheological properties of the liquid substrate, transparent multilayer circuits composed of high-resolution embedded cables are achieved using a commercial inkjet printer. As the silver cables are encapsulated by a poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) matrix, the embedded circuits can bend reversibly without an apparent resistance increase. This facile strategy provides a new avenue for inkjet-printing of highly integrated and transparent electronics, which is highly desirable in wearable electronics and implantable devices.