A study on the electrical and mechanical properties of printed Ag thin films for flexible device application

In this study, the mechanical and electrical properties of printed Ag nanoparticle colloid were analyzed in order to achieve high adhesive strength and low resistivity. Adhesive strength on a polyimide substrate, which is a critical factor for the practical application of flexible devices, was measured using a 90 degrees peel test. An Ag film sintered at 250 degrees C for 30 min showed an excellent adhesive strength of 0.54 kN/m and a resistivity of 22 mu Omega cm. Compositional and microstructural analyses showed that the high adhesive strength resulted from the balance between remaining organic residues and the mechanical strength of sintered Ag films. The electrical resistivity was revealed to be strongly correlated with the cluster formation of Ag nanoparticles and the decomposition of the capping agent. (C) 2014 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved