Laser-direct process of Cu nano-ink to coat highly conductive and adhesive metallization patterns on plastic substrate

We here present a simple, low-cost laser-direct process to fabricate conductive Cu patterns on plastic substrate. A Cu nano-ink was synthesized using Cu formate as a precursor. The Cu ink spin-coated on a polyimide substrate was selectively sintered using a pulsed ultraviolet laser beam. The unexposed regions of the coated ink could be removed by rinsing the whole film in the dispersion agent of the synthesized ink, which revealed a conductive Cu pattern. This allowed sintering and patterning to be simultaneously accomplished, with a minimum line width of ~20 μm available. The fabricated pattern remained strongly adhesive to the substrate and exhibited only a slight increase in resistance even after 1000 bending cycles to a radius of curvature of 4.8 mm.