Issue

Vol. 9 No. 4 (2017)

Laser-Assisted Reduction of Highly Conductive Circuits Based on Copper Nitrate for Flexible Printed Sensors

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-017-0139-3
Shi Bai
Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 100 Pingle Yuan, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China
Shigang Zhang
School of Civil and Transportation Engineering, Beijing University of Civil Engineering and Architecture, Zhanlanguan Road, Beijing 100044, People’s Republic of China
Weiping Zhou
Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 100 Pingle Yuan, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China
Delong Ma
Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 100 Pingle Yuan, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China
Ying Ma
Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 100 Pingle Yuan, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China
Pooran Joshi
Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, TN 37831-6061, USA
Anming Hu
Institute of Laser Engineering, Beijing University of Technology, 100 Pingle Yuan, Beijing 100124, People’s Republic of China

Corresponding Author: Anming Hu

anminghu@bjut.edu.cn

Nano-Micro Letters, Vol. 9 No. 4 (2017), Article Number: 42

Abstract

Stretchable electronic sensing devices are defining the path toward wearable electronics. High-performance flexible strain sensors attached on clothing or human skin are required for potential applications in the entertainment, health monitoring, and medical care sectors. In this work, conducting copper electrodes were fabricated on polydimethylsiloxane as sensitive stretchable microsensors by integrating laser direct writing and transfer printing approaches. The copper electrode was reduced from copper salt using laser writing rather than the general approach of printing with pre-synthesized copper or copper oxide nanoparticles. An electrical resistivity of 96 μΩ cm was achieved on 40-μm-thick Cu electrodes on flexible substrates. The motion sensing functionality successfully demonstrated a high sensitivity and mechanical robustness. This in situ fabrication method leads to a path toward electronic devices on flexible substrates.


Highlights:


1 A novel method to fabricate flexible sensors based on conductive copper circuits by laser-assisted reduction is introduced.
2 The copper nitrate hydroxide (Cu(OH)(NO3)) was reduced by ethylene glycol using laser scanning on glass and polyethylene terephthalate. By transferring the copper electrode onto the polydimethylsiloxane, which acted as stretchable substrate, the electrode exhibits high sensitivity, and its resistivity is as low as ~90 μΩ cm.
3 This type of device can be used for motion detection and touch sensors to control electrical devices.

Keywords

Laser direct writing Copper circuit Stretchable sensor Laser reduction
Bai, Shi, Shigang Zhang, Weiping Zhou, Delong Ma, Ying Ma, Pooran Joshi, and Anming Hu. 2017. “Laser-Assisted Reduction of Highly Conductive Circuits Based on Copper Nitrate for Flexible Printed Sensors”. Nano-Micro Letters 9 (4):42. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40820-017-0139-3.
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