Scientists at MIPT have developed and prepared for mass production a dry aerosol printing printer. The device allows for the cheap and rapid production of microelectronic components from nanoparticles without the use of solvents, liquid inks, or binders.
Our method is relevant for the formation of passive microelectronic elements, plasmon layers of optoelectronic devices, microsensors, and catalytic structures. But most importantly, we eliminate the risk of contaminating the formed structure with salts from the decomposition of dispersion stabilizers or other ink components, which can worsen the characteristics of the final device.
The technology works as follows: ultra-dense pulses of electricity "tear off" and melt micro-protrusions on the electrode, forming nanoparticles with a diameter of 5–15 nanometers. They are carried away by a stream of gas and focused on the desired areas of the chip. Initial experiments have shown that the resulting conductors are not significantly inferior in conductivity to full-fledged silver crystals.
The printer has already passed state acceptance tests and is being prepared for mass production.