Stable, cost-effective copper inks for flexible printed electronics

Copper-based inks have been gaining interest as a potentially cheaper alternative to conductive silver inks for flexible, printed hybrid electronics. However, most of the current copper inks in the market tend to oxidise under room conditions, leading to performance issues and thereby limiting their adoption. A Singapore based SME has developed a range of conductive materials, which are specifically designed to be printable, cured at low temperature, and flexible, making them ideal for printed electronics. Furthermore, the inks have been formulated to be extremely stable under ambient conditions, providing several advantages over the existing state-of-the-art inks. Two variations of copper inks are available: copper complex ink, and copper particle ink. Current methods for electroless plating are achieved using palladium seed, which is very costly. Copper complex ink can form a good base for such applications where the building of circuit or electrodes on 3D images is an issue. It can provide a good and cost-effective alternative for the manufacture of printed electronics. This technology is applicable (but not limited) to printed electronics in general. The inks enable the printing of conductive traces on both flexible and rigid substrates. Examples of these are: • Printed photovoltaic • Printed lighting touchscreen • Printed heaters • Printed displays • Printed antenna • Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags • Electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding • Alternative replacement of silver inks Partners interested in licensing or commercial agreements with technical assistance are being sought by the technology provider. The technology provider is looking for partners from Germany or France to jointly participate in joint innovation opportunities.