Daniel Föste | droptical GmbH: Why do 8% of your printed transistors fail, and it's not because of clogged nozzles?
05:25 - 07:33
Other snippets from this talk
Summary of the clip:
Why do 8% of your printed transistors fail, and it's not because of clogged nozzles?
This clip provides a deep dive into three critical, yet often overlooked, failure modes in industrial inkjet printing, moving beyond the simple issue of a completely clogged nozzle. The first example, from thin-film transistor manufacturing, reveals that the dominant failure mode was not open circuits from clogs, but short circuits caused by ink spreading and merging on the substrate. This highlights the critical importance of the ink-substrate interaction, and intriguingly, these defects were found to be more prevalent at the very start of a production run.
The second case study addresses the non-intuitive problem of nozzle clogging from particles significantly smaller than the nozzle's diameter. Research showed that particles just over one micrometer in size could agglomerate over time within the printhead's microchannels, eventually leading to nozzle failure. This underscores the need for stringent ink filtration and quality control, as even seemingly insignificant contaminants can cause catastrophic failures during long production runs.
Finally, the analysis covers the subtle yet damaging effect of air ingestion into the nozzle during the jetting process. Using specialized visualization with glass nozzles, researchers were able to observe tiny air bubbles being sucked into the ink channel during droplet ejection. This ingestion leads to significant inconsistencies in subsequent droplet volume, velocity, and trajectory, creating difficult-to-diagnose defects on the final product.
In this short video, you can learn:
* How ink-substrate interaction can cause more defects than nozzle clogging.
* Why even sub-micron particles in your ink can lead to nozzle failure.
* The impact of air ingestion on droplet consistency and process stability.
📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip analyzes three often-overlooked failure modes in industrial inkjet printing, supported by evidence from technical papers. Understanding these subtle issues, from ink spreading to micro-particle clogging and air ingestion, is critical for improving yield in advanced manufacturing.
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#PrintedTransistors, #InkSubstrateInteraction, #InkjetProcessStability, #MicroParticleClogging, #PrintedElectronics, #AdditiveManufacturing
This is a highlight of the presentation:
Inline, full-printhead camera inspection for inkjet
More Highlights from the same talk.
07:36 - 09:43
How can you guarantee your inkjet process is stable before you even print the first substrate?
How can you guarantee your inkjet process is stable before you even print the first substrate?
This segment details the value of implementing pre-process inspections using an in-machine drop watching system to establish a stable baseline before production begins. This initial check can verify critical parameters that directly impact jetting performance and final device quality. For example, it can confirm that the ink has reached its optimal operating temperature and viscosity, ensuring that the droplet velocity and volume are within the specified process window from the very first print.
The discussion then explores how to manage ink batch-to-batch variation directly on the production line, a significant challenge in high-volume manufacturing. Instead of relying solely on offline, lab-based waveform optimization, an in-machine check can quickly confirm that the existing, qualified waveform is still suitable for a new ink batch. This proactive step, along with a rapid check for any nozzles that may have clogged during downtime, can prevent an entire run of defective products.
Furthermore, the clip introduces the advanced concept of extending in-machine analysis to the substrate itself, a critical but often unmonitored variable. The speaker discusses the potential for integrating inline contact angle measurements to verify substrate surface quality and energy. This allows for real-time confirmation of proper ink wetting and can prevent widespread defects caused by substrate contamination or inconsistent surface treatment, ensuring the entire printing system is ready for production.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The strategy of pre-process checks for ink temperature and nozzle health.
* How to de-risk new ink batches by verifying waveform suitability in the production tool.
* The concept of inline contact angle measurement for substrate quality control.
📋 **Clip Abstract** Learn how to implement a robust process control strategy for industrial inkjet printing using in-machine drop watching. This clip covers pre-process and next-to-line inspections to manage variables like ink temperature, batch-to-batch variations, and even substrate surface quality.
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#DropWatching, #InkjetProcessControl, #InkBatchControl, #InlineContactAngle, #PrintedElectronics, #MicroLEDManufacturing
11:36 - 12:41
Is your scheduled printhead cleaning cycle wasting time and causing unnecessary downtime?
Is your scheduled printhead cleaning cycle wasting time and causing unnecessary downtime?
This clip presents the next frontier in inkjet process control: a true inline monitoring device designed for 100% real-time quality assurance. The concept moves beyond periodic, off-substrate checks to a system featuring multiple, integrated camera heads. This architecture enables a full, comprehensive scan of the entire printhead during the actual printing process, providing an unprecedented level of real-time data on every single nozzle's performance.
The immediate benefit of this real-time, comprehensive data stream is the ability to instantly detect process deviations as they occur. By monitoring every nozzle as it fires, the system can identify misfires, changes in droplet velocity or volume, or the onset of clogging in real-time. This eliminates the significant risk of printing large defective areas on expensive substrates before a problem is caught by downstream, post-process inspection, thereby saving material and improving yield.
This technology enables a strategic shift from inefficient, preventative maintenance to highly efficient, predictive maintenance. Instead of relying on fixed, cyclic cleaning schedules which cause downtime whether needed or not, an inline system facilitates on-demand cleaning. The production tool can be programmed to automatically initiate a cleaning cycle only for the specific nozzles that begin to show signs of failure, maximizing equipment uptime and overall production efficiency.
In this short video, you can learn:
* The concept of a multi-camera system for 100% real-time printhead monitoring.
* How to instantly detect nozzle failures as they happen during production.
* The shift from inefficient cyclic cleaning to data-driven, on-demand maintenance.
📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip outlines the future of inkjet process control with a vision for a fully integrated, inline monitoring system. Discover how real-time, full printhead scanning can enable on-demand maintenance, eliminating unnecessary downtime and maximizing manufacturing yield.
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#InlinePrintheadMonitoring, #RealTimeNozzleInspection, #PredictiveInkjetMaintenance, #MultiCameraProcessControl, #PrintedElectronics, #AdditiveManufacturing