PulseForge TM Curing Copper and other Thin-Film Materials at Production Speeds Stan Farnsworth, VP Marketing Oct 2009
2009 PulseForge 3100 and Pulsed Thermal Processing www.novacentrix.com 2
NovaCentrix in the Supply Chain Printed Electronics Manufacturing Tool Integrators Raw Materials Mfg Materials Material Handlers Printers Dryers Curing Tools Device/ Application Ink components; Inks; Roll-to-roll; Inkjet; Ovens; Ovens; Solar; Raw substrates Substrates Conveyors Screen; Air knives; Aerosol; New Tech Flexo; Gravure; UV Lamps; Lasers; Pulsed Thermal Processing; New Tech RFID; Transistors; Displays; Packaging; Smart cards Nanoparticles Metalon TM Inks PulseForge TM Tools NovaCentrix Technologies and Products www.novacentrix.com 3
PulseForge TM Tools for Drying and Curing PulseForge tools are designed to to enable the development and manufacturing of high-performance printed electronics applications. Inks and thin films can be dried, d sintered, or annealed in milliseconds on flexible or rigid substrates. PulseForge tools work by utilizing intense, pulsed light to heat thin films to a high temperature for a very brief amount of time. The power density is very high The total energy is low. Thermally fragile substrates are unaffected. PulseForge tools are the next step beyond Rapid Thermal Processing (RTP). They are faster and use less total energy. www.novacentrix.com 4
PulseForge Technology Unique Capabilities Process functional inks and thin films in milliseconds, often in ambient air Processing includes drying, sintering, annealing, and densification Silver, copper, and other novel metals Semiconductors and other non-metals Polymers Enables use of very low temp and flexible substrates PET, PVC, etc. Papers Compatible with all major print and deposition methods Capable of high-speed roll-to-roll manufacturing, up to 1000 feet per minute Scalable technology base for sustained printed electronics product innovation www.novacentrix.com 5
Typical Thermal Profile 1100 1000 900 Peak temp >1000 C Surface 20 micron from surface 150 micron from surface Conditions: 1 μ Ag on 150 μ(6 mil) PET Radiant exposure: 1 J/cm 2 Pulse length: 300 μs 800 700 Ag T [C] 600 500 400 Substrate < 150 C @ 8 ms Thermal equilibrium @ 35 ms (90C) 300 200 100 PET 0 0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 t [ms] High temperature processing removes excess solvent and enhances sintering. Substrate is undamaged. www.novacentrix.com 6
10 1.0 0.9 0.8 TM PulseForge Cumulative Spectral Emissive Intensity Intensity No ormalized 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 03 0.3 0.2 0.1 0.0 Ultra High Intensity High Intensity Medium Intensity Low Intensity 0 500 1000 1500 2000 2500 3000 Wavelength (nm) www.novacentrix.com Stan Farnsworth ph: 512 491 9500 x210 www.novacentrix.com 7
Traditional Processing Methods Ovens Positives Negatives Wide area of processing Uniformity Cure temperature is limited by the substrate (e.g. PET ~150C). Curing times are long: >minutes www.novacentrix.com 8
Traditional Processing Methods Ovens Positives Negatives Wide area of processing Uniformity Cure temperature is limited by the substrate (e.g. PET ~150C). Curing times are long: >minutes Lasers Positives Negatives High power densities Spatial selectivity Small exposure area requires rastering and registration Fixed wavelength Pulse lengths are too short Cost at production scale www.novacentrix.com 9
Combining Desired Processing Attributes PulseForge Wide area of processing Uniformity Cure temperature is not limited by the substrate (e.g. PET ~150C). Curing times are short: ~milliseconds www.novacentrix.com 10
Combining Desired Processing Attributes PulseForge Wide area of processing Uniformity Cure temperature is not limited by the substrate (e.g. PET ~150C). Curing times are short: ~milliseconds High power densities Selective material processing Large exposure area does not require rastering or scanning Broadband adjustable spectrum Tunable pulse lengths from microseconds to milliseconds Economical production scale: >1m 2 /sec www.novacentrix.com 11
Case Study: Ag on Photopaper Material System Ink material: Ag inkjet @ ~0.5 μ Substrate: t Photopaper w/ 110 o C max working temp Cure Condition Oven PulseForge Temperature 110 C NA Time 20 minutes 0.15 sec Resulting sheet resistance 1600 mω/sq 80 mω/sq Comments 20x improvement in conductivity at 100 ft/min www.novacentrix.com 12
Case Study: Ag on PET Material System Ink material: Ag screen print @ ~25 μ Substrate: t PET w/ 150 o C max working temp Cure Condition Oven PulseForge Temperature 150 C NA Time 30 minutes <1sec Resulting sheet resistance Comments: 20 mω/sq 15 mω/sq 25% improvement in conductivity Can therefore require less Ag, saving cost Cure speed 50 fpm www.novacentrix.com 13
TM Case Study: Introducing Metalon ICI-001 Jettable Cu Material System Ink material: ICI-001 Copper @ ~0.3-0.4 μm equivalent thickness Substrate: t Photopaper w/ 110 o C max working temp Cure Condition Oven PulseForge Temperature 150 C NA Time 30 minutes <1sec Resulting sheet resistance ~inf (>MΩ/sq) 140 mω/sq Comments: Copper inkjet! 3x bulk Cu resistivity Processed Cu ink in ambient air conditions www.novacentrix.com 14
TM Case Study: Introducing Metalon ICI-001 Jettable Cu Material System Ink material: ICI-001 Copper @ ~0.3-0.4 μm equivalent thickness Substrate: t Photopaper w/ 110 o C max working temp Cure Condition Temperature PulseForge SEM - Uncured SEM - Cured NA Time Resulting sheet resistance Comments: < 1 sec 140 mω/sq Copper inkjet! 3x bulk Cu resistivity Processed Cu ink in ambient air conditions www.novacentrix.com 15
PulseForge Performance Sheet Resistance e (oh hm/sq) not to scale Inkjet/ Aerosol Regime Flexo/ Gravure Regime B Screen Print Regime A Oven cure PulseForge 1μ 5μ 25μ Film/ink Thickness Thin films and inks: PulseForge cures better and faster than an oven. Thicker films and inks: PulseForge cures much faster than an oven, attaining similar or better performance. A B Comparable conductivity can be achieved using much less ink. www.novacentrix.com 16
PulseForge Product Family PulseForge 1100 Process Development Tool Suitable for metals and semiconductors Highly flexible system for R&D Exposure width: ~1.5 X 6 Broad window of energy applied Pulse length from micro to milliseconds Pulse rate: manual Launched at IDTechEx San Francisco, November 2007 www.novacentrix.com 17
PulseForge Product Family PulseForge 3100 Production Tool for processing metal inks Integrate directly with roll-to-roll systems, or as stand-alone with conveyor system Web width in 6 increments Exposure width: 6,12, 18, etc. Line speeds > 300ft/min for sintering metal inks Exposure conditions maintained as line speed varies Suitable for inkjet, flexo, gravure, and screenprint applications Launched at InterSolar 2008/Semicon West, July 2008 in San Francisco www.novacentrix.com 18
PulseForge Product Family PulseForge 3300 Production Tool for processing metal, semiconductor, and polymer inks and thin films Integrate directly with roll-to-roll systems, or as stand-alone with conveyor system Web width in 6 increments Exposure width: 6,12, 18, etc. Line speeds > 1000ft/min Exposure conditions maintained as line speed varies Suitable for inkjet, flexo, gravure, and screen-print applications Launch: Summer 2009 www.novacentrix.com 19
Options for PulseForge Access Client Project Stage Feasibility PulseForge Options p p Can PulseForge improve product performance and economics? Development/ Optimization How can performance be maximized and cost minimized? Production Volume manufacturing of the developed device including in roll-to-roll formatting Services Tools at our facility NovaCentrix staff can help quickly assess the suitability of PulseForge tools for a given application Clients can work with tools at our facility to optimize their applications performance and economics. Package rates are available. NovaCentrix can be a part of the supply-chain by economically processing finished products. Leasing Tools at client facility Tools placed at client facilities can accelerate product development and provide access for multiple engineering groups. Leasing minimizes customer capital expense and allows maximum flexibility for PulseForge upgrades and support. Purchase Tools at client facility Tools permanently placed at client facilities come with technical support and consumables options. Purchased tools are best for organizations with many users and/or significant volume production expectations. www.novacentrix.com 20
Summary PulseForge tools use a novel industrial process called photonic curing for rapidly sintering thin films, such as metallic and semiconductor inks, on low temperature substrates. The basis of PulseForge tools is the use of intense pulsed light from plasma discharge lamps to briefly heat the film without affecting the substrate. Reduces or even eliminates the need for an oven to cure many materials The process is able to cure materials that cannot ordinarily be thermally processed in air such as sintering a copper particle film The process is broadcast by nature and maskless, with no need for registration The millisecond timeframe, high power, and deep uv spectrum of the tool makes it ideal for high speed processing applications for materials even beyond metal inks. PulseForge tools often outperform ovens and are much more scalable than laser processing. Low temperature materials such as cellulose and PET are now feasible substrates for high-performance printed electronics applications. www.novacentrix.com 21
Contact us with questions or for samples processing www.novacentrix.com Stan Farnsworth VP Marketing Ph: 512 491 9500 x210 stan.farnsworth@novacentrix.com www.novacentrix.com 22