Roll-to-roll gravure printed silver patterns to guarantee printability and functionality for mass production

This study introduces mass-producible roll-to-roll (R2R) gravure printed patterns with good printability and functionality. Ag flake materials and polyimide (PI) film substrates were used in this experiment. To confirm mass production potential, a large-scale R2R gravure machine was used, and lengthy printing times were used in the process (6.5 h). It was attempted to print a 30- to 120-μm fine-line pattern (groove type) and a 200- to 1000-μm-wide (dot type) nominal pattern. Various printed width and thickness values were obtained using many measurement sets to confirm the repeatability of each pattern for lengthy process times. We obtained a 45- to 1000-μm pattern width and a 1- to 5-μm thickness. Moreover, resistivity of the printed pattern was also achieved in the range of 5.4–18 μΩ cm. A peel-off test was performed using a standardized method. Finally, this paper presents the achieved optimized process condition and the results of this study. [Display omitted] •A roll-to-roll gravure printed Ag pattern was studied to achieve mass production capabilities.•The aspect ratios of the engraved cell and the defined widening factors were used for the analysis.•A good resistivity of 10–16 μΩ-cm was obtained at 400 °C after 20 min.•In lengthy sintering conditions, a value of 5.4 μΩ-cm after 2 h was obtained.•In reliability test, the 300 °C curing condition was found to be the most suitable condition for the mass production.