ETH Zürich’s NanoDrip technology to new technology for the production of … – 3Druck.com

Researchers from Scrona, a spin-off of ETH Zurich and the ETH Zurich have developed a new technology for placement of droplets in the nano-reporting.

This image measures 115μm only 80 ×. (c) Scrona / ETH Züric

This was already used to the smallest to produce image with inkjet inks. This is only 80 × 115μm in size and still offers a good resolution.

The same technology can be applied to three-dimensional area for creating ladders now. These conductors consist of 80 to 500 nm (nanometers) wide strips of gold or silver and are therefore hardly visible. In order to increase the conductivity while the researchers have simply applied up to four layers of conductive material and so created nanowalls. Thus the NanoDrip technology itself could perfect for production of touchscreens are.

With these it is both important that the network of conductors is as fine as possible and still let a lot of light, as a quasi invisible to the user. The finer the mesh, the finer the position of the finger can be determined on the touch screen

ETH professor, Dimos Poulikakos explains.

If you want to with reach wires of these metals simultaneously high conductivity and transparency, there is a trade. With increasing cross-section of gold and silver wires, although the transparency of the grid, the conductivity to, but off.

figcaption "wp-caption-text"> grid with only 300 nm thin conductors. (c) Schneider J et al. Advanced Functional Materials 2015

The NanoDrip technology was developed three years ago. The principle is based on the so-called electro-hydrodynamic jet printing. Here inks are provided with metal nanoparticles and pulled by an electric field from the glass capillary. The resulting droplets can be placed in a three-dimensional structure.

Now, the scientists are working together with Scrona together at the next challenge, apply the principle to larger scales. Should this succeed, the scientists agree, is NanoDrip the existing technology, from the basis of Indiumzinoxid electrodes detach. Indiumzinoxid is used for its transparency, but does not offer as good conductivity, such as gold or silver and is in production, because of the unconditional clean room, more expensive. Stakes could NanoDrip also in the manufacture of solar cells, see, because even at this applies the more light is allowed to pass, the more efficiently.

The work, entitled “Electro Hydrodynamic NanoDrip Printing of High Aspect Ratio Metal Grid Transparent Electrodes” Julian Schneider, Patrik Rohner, Deepankur Thureja, Martin Schmid, Patrick Galliker and Dimos Poulikakos was published in the journal Advanced Functional Materials.