NU 2014-154
Inventors
Mark C. Hersam*
Lorraine F. Francis
C. Daniel Frisbie
Woo Jin Hyun
Ethan B. Secor
Short Description
Novel pristine graphene ink with high conductivity for fabrication of flexible electronic devices
Abstract
Printed conductive inks represent a significant global market and are expected to increase in use with emerging applications in printed and flexible electronics. Typical conductive inks fall into three categories: metal particles, which are relatively expensive; conducting polymers, which have limited environmental stability; and carbon-based inks, which have relatively low conductivity. Graphene represents an alternative conducting material that balances these limitations. The present invention provides concentrated dispersions of graphene with high colloidal stability and viscosity suitable for screen printing. Northwestern researchers have achieved high-resolution screen print patterning of pristine graphene with these inks using a silicon stencil on flexible substrates. Following mild annealing, the printed patterns exhibit high electrical conductivity and desirable mechanical durability. The technology generates high-quality graphene patterns, with resolution lines as narrow as 40 µm versus 75 to 150 µm resolution observed with conventional screen printing methods. The inks promise fabrication of finer patterns to facilitate higher integration density and improved device performance.
Applications
Advantages
Publications
Hyun W, Secor E, Hersam M, Frisbie C, Francis L (2015) High-Resolution Patterning of Graphene by Screen Printing with a Silicon Stencil for Highly Flexible Printed Electronics . Advanced Materials. 27(1): 109-115.
IP Status
A patent application has been filed.