Microsputterer with integrated ion-drag focusing for additive manufacturing of thin, narrow conductive lines
                  April 4, 2018
      
      
  
    
                  Journal Article
      
      
  
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      J. Phys. D.: Appl. Phys., Vol. 51, 2018, 165603.
      
  
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    Summary
              We report the design, modelling, and proof-of-concept demonstration of a continuously fed, atmospheric-pressure microplasma metal sputterer that is capable of printing conductive lines narrower than the width of the target without the need for post-processing or lithographic patterning. Ion drag-induced focusing is harnessed to print narrow lines; the focusing mechanism is modelled via COMSOL Multiphysics simulations and validated with experiments. A microplasma sputter head with gold target is constructed and used to deposit imprints with minimum feature sizes as narrow as 9 μm, roughness as small as 55 nm, and electrical resistivity as low as 1.1 mu Omega · m.
          