A wiping gravure printing method for realizing a trench pattern in printed electronics

Gravure printing is one of the most promising high-speed, roll-to-roll techniques for printed electronics. The printing of electronic components is undergoing rapid changes from screen to gravure methods due to advances in imaging technology. In this study, by investigating specific printing parameters, the authors demonstrated that high-viscosity silver ink with a trench pattern is suitable for printing high-conductivity lines. To address the difficulties of transferring high-viscosity conductive ink, they developed a wiping gravure system in which the wiping device is used prior to the doctoring process. In addition, they evaluated the feasibility of applying the wiping device to gravure printing using a gravure printing testing machine, and certain characteristics of the printing process were analyzed through computer simulations. They sought to optimize the high-viscosity printing process by using the trench pattern, instead of common gravure cells. As a result, they were able to demonstrate printed lines with high resolution (50 μm width, 3.3 μm thickness) and low resistivity (7 × 10^-5 Ω cm).