Multiple conductor printings

To lower the electrical resistivity of a thick-film conductor, some manufacturers print multiple printings of the same copper conductor ink using toe same pattern. This process can provide a fired-ink thickness of 20 to 25 pm and a resistivity of approximately 1 to 2 mO/n. 

In summary, the main advantages of thick-film technology are the high-conductivity conductors and the relatively inexpensive process equipment, whereas the drawbacks are the limited number of layers, the multiple printing and firing steps, the low conductor line resolution, and the limited dielectric thickness. 

Continuous-flow inkjet printing can produce structures 2 pm thick in the conductor width range from 50 to 150 pm. Arraying multiple jets In parallel Increases printing speed. Thicker conductors can be produced by overprinting, running multiple passes over the same contour. Waste is a drawback of this printing process the flow of ink is continuous, which means that the ink has to he electrically deflected at the places that should not be printed. 

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