Roll-to-roll gravure printed silver patterns to guarantee printability and functionality for mass production

This study introduces mass-producible roll-to-roll (R2R) gravure printed patterns with good printability and functionality. Ag flake materials and polyimide (PI) film substrates were used in this experiment. To confirm mass production potential, a large-scale R2R gravure machine was used, and lengthy printing times were used in the process (6.5 h). It was attempted to print a 30- to 120-μm fine-line pattern (groove type) and a 200- to 1000-μm-wide (dot type) nominal pattern. Various printed width and thickness values were obtained using many measurement sets to confirm the repeatability of each pattern for lengthy process times. We obtained a 45- to 1000-μm pattern width and a 1- to 5-μm thickness. Moreover, resistivity of the printed pattern was also achieved in the range of 5.4–18 μΩ cm. A peel-off test was performed using a standardized method. Finally, this paper presents the achieved optimized process condition and the results of this study.