A new simple to use approach for the measurement of adhesion strength of inkjet-printed films on their substrate is presented. The need for this new approach utilizing an ultrasonic bath is introduced by a brief explanation of existing methods. The ultrasonic bath method is evaluated by investigating different silver inks on different substrates (ceramic and glass-fibre reinforced plastic). Using the new ultrasonic bath method the temperature range for optimum adhesion on the substrate for different combinations of ink and substrate is evaluated. This temperature is shown not to be the maximum applicable temperature but rather a temperature in the middle section. At the optimum temperature, strong bonds between silver particles are formed without the sintering shrinkage breaking the bond to the substrate. The influence of using poly(methyl methacrylate) in silver inks on adhesion and resistivity is also investigated and discussed. The organic material shows little impact on the resistivity of printed tracks for sintering temperatures above 150 °C while changing the film adhesion temperature profile.
Andreas Rathjen, Jan Zimmermann, Vico Haverkamp, Klaus Krüger, "Adhesion and Electrical Properties of Low Temperature Processed Ag-PMMA-Films in Inkjet Printing" in Proc. IS&T Int'l Conf. on Digital Printing Technologies and Digital Fabrication (NIP31), 2015, pp 452 - 456, https://doi.org/10.2352/ISSN.2169-4451.2015.31.1.art00100_1