Study of aerosol jet printing with dry nanoparticles synthesized by spark discharge

A new method of aerosol jet printing utilizing dry (solvent-free) airborne nanoparticles generated by spark discharge is proposed. This method was applied to fabricate thin conducting lines (60-160 mu m) composed of silver nanoparticles on the surface of glass substrates. It has been demonstrated that the line width is determined by a sheath flow rate, while its thickness and cross-sectional area can be scaled up by a number of printing runs. The resistivity of printed lines after the annealing was found to be five times higher than that of bulk silver that is attributed to the porosity and the interparticle contact resistance. The proposed method holds promise for the application in technologies of printed electronics.