Open AccessElectrical Sintering of Silver Nanoparticle Ink Studied by In-Situ TEM Probing
Author(s) -
Magnus Hummelgård,
Renyun Zhang,
HansErik Nilsson,
Håkan Olin
Publication year - 2011
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0017209
Subject(s) - sintering , materials science , joule heating , nanoparticle , coalescence (physics) , transmission electron microscopy , silver nanoparticle , resistive touchscreen , electrical resistivity and conductivity , conductive ink , composite material , nanotechnology , chemical engineering , electrical engineering , sheet resistance , engineering , layer (electronics) , astrobiology , physics
Metallic nanoparticle inks are used for printed electronics, but to reach acceptable conductivity the structures need to be sintered, usually using a furnace. Recently, sintering by direct resistive heating has been demonstrated. For a microscopic understanding of this Joule heating sintering method, we studied the entire process in real time inside a transmission electron microscope equipped with a movable electrical probe. We found an onset of Joule heating induced sintering and coalescence of nanoparticles at power levels of 0.1–10 mW/ m 3 . In addition, a carbonization of the organic shells that stabilize the nanoparticles were found, with a conductivity of 4 10 5 Sm −1 .
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