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Tunable Reverse Offset Printing with a Stretchable Blanket for Fabricating Flexible Printed Electronics
Author(s) -
Shin Seunghang,
Kim Seok,
Cho Young Tae
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
advanced engineering materials
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.938
H-Index - 114
eISSN - 1527-2648
pISSN - 1438-1656
DOI - 10.1002/adem.202001537
Subject(s) - blanket , materials science , stretchable electronics , elastomer , fabrication , inkwell , offset printing , flexible electronics , printed electronics , composite material , coating , nanotechnology , electronics , substrate (aquarium) , lithography , screen printing , optoelectronics , electrical engineering , medicine , oceanography , alternative medicine , pathology , geology , engineering
Reverse offset printing (ROP) is receiving increasing attention as an emerging technology for printed electronics due to its rapid, environment‐friendly fabrication processes. A tunable ROP process is proposed by exploiting the controlled elastic deformation of a stretchable blanket. First, the flat elastomeric blanket is elastically stretched before coating with the printing ink. Next, Ag ink is coated on the surface of a supporting substrate and sequentially transferred to a prestrained elastomeric blanket. Second, the patterned cliché is rolled over the prestrained blanket surface by applying an optimized pressure for patterning. Finally, releasing the strain in the patterned elastomeric blanket leads to a pattern deformation on pitch and sizes. A decrease in the line width and pitch is demonstrated using a tunable ROP process with a stretchable blanket. This unique tunable printing process offers the capability of low‐cost fabrication of various microstructures from a single cliché using simple mechanical stretching and releasing.