On-Demand Jetting of Molten Metal Droplets for Power Electronics Applications

High current power electronics applications present challenges for traditional printed electronics processes and materials. In a perfect world, it would be possible to digitally print conductive traces that mimic the performance of heavy gauge copper wire for these applications. This talk will present an emerging technology that does just that. On-demand molten metal jetting (MMJ) jets discrete droplets of molten metal towards a moving substrate where they cool down and solidify to produce the desired circuit geometry. This talk will present recent results in which molten copper and silver traces are printed with conductivities matching those of the bulk metals. An exciting recent development that will be presented is the first demonstration of multi-nozzle MMJ that further increases the speed and throughput of the process. The talk will conclude with discussion of remaining challenges to be overcome with this new process.