Optimization of the conductivity of microwave components printed by inkjet on polymeric substrates by photonic sintering

In this work, using a Drop on demand (DOD) inkjet printer, microwave resonators are printed on a polymer (polyimide) substrate with silver nanoparticle ink. To improve the electrical conductivity of the metallic deposit, two strategies are presented using sintering with pulsed light (IPL) over a broad spectrum of 190-1100 nm. The conductivity measured is improved from 50 to 138% for resonators working in range of 7-21 GHz.