In-situ Monitoring Method for Curing of Pastes Used in Printed Electronics

In this paper, a method for in-situ monitoring of thermal curing of conductive materials for printed electronics applications is introduced. Materials for printed electronics in form of inks and pastes need to be cured after printing. Curing is an important post-printing process. Curing is often done at elevated temperatures. The presented method includes a printable layout for conductive pastes which can be easily inspected by microscopy. The layout represents a large-area application of conductive paste and therefore results are consistent with the properties of the paste in the final application. The method also includes a specially designed holding frame that holds samples in the air and connects them to the measuring device. During curing the electrical resistance of the printed samples and temperature of the substrate surface are continuously measured. Presented results show that the curing process can be optimized by changing curing parameters like temperature and time. Curing temperature is critical for substrates with low heat resistance like plastic foils or papers.