High copper loading metal organic decomposition paste for printed electronics

A screen-printable metal organic decomposition (MOD) paste with a high copper loading has been developed. Copper precursor (copper hydroxide and copper formate) and copper flasks are used as copper sources in the paste. The copper precursor is reduced to copper nanoparticles during sintering at a temperature of 200 °C for 3 min and forms a conductive film, whereas the copper flakes are added to increase the conductivity of the printed film. The optimal formulation of the screen-printing MOD paste was obtained with a copper hydroxide to formic acid ratio of 0.875 and by adding copper flakes to reach a total copper loading of 30 wt%. The printed film after sintering had a sheet resistance of 39 mΩ/sq and a volume resistivity of 21 μΩ cm.