1. Aerosol Jet® Printing of A Silver Epoxy Conductive Adhesive for High Density Applications
Kurt Christenson and Michael Renn - Optomec, Inc.
Donald Giroux - Resin Designs, LLC
Daniel Blazej - Assembly Answers, LLC
IMAPS New England Symposium
Boxborough, MA
May 8, 2012

2. IMAPS New England Symposium
Who Are The Players?
Optomec - Equipment Company Based In Albuquerque, NM Focused On Additive Manufacturing
LENS (Laser Engineered Net Shaping) 3D Printer
Aerosol Jet® Printer
Resin Designs - Adhesives Company In Woburn, MA Producing Custom Formulations For Many Electronic and Industrial Applications
Assembly Answers - Manufacturers Representative Providing Sales and Marketing Services For Resin Designs
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

3. Drivers for Collaboration
Identified Needs For Conductive Adhesive That Can Be:
Dispensed In Small Volumes, Creating Dots 0.001” ” In Diameter For Small Components and Thin Bond Lines
Dispensed In Recessed Areas And On Different Height Substrates With Non-Contact Nozzle, Standoff Up To 1 cm
Used For Bonding Small Devices Requiring High Electrical and Thermal Conductivity
Push “Pixel Density” from ~100 DPI To ~1000 DPI And From 2D to 3D
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

4. Optomec Aerosol Jet Technology
Material Aerosolized and Mixed With Carrier Gas In Atomizer
Aerosol Concentrated In Virtual Impactor And Excess Gas Removed
Material Stream Exits At Deposition Head And Patterns Created With Shutter (Not Shown)
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

5. Aerosol Jet Process Movie
Video May Also Be Seen Here
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

6. Aerosol Jet Is Not Ink Jet!
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

7. Unique Dispense Technology Needs Unique Adhesive Technology
Silver Particles Need To Be Nanometer Sized
Conventional Die Attach Adhesives Use Multimicrometer Sized Particles
Silver And Resins Must Maintain Homogeneous Distribution In Micrometer Sized Droplets
Resins Must Be Stable For Processing And Long Work Life
Conventional Silver Paste
Particle Size Distribution Before and After Aerosol Jet Deposition
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

8. Development Challenges
Epoxy System Selected As Core Adhesive
Critical Modifications Made Over Course Of Project
Separation Of Silver and Resin In Aerosol An Early Stumbling Block
Overcome With Modifications To Both Silver and Resin
Important To Understand How Aerosol Is Created And Maintained
Maintaining Stoichiometry of Resin and Hardener In Aerosol Is Critical For Optimum Properties
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

9. Aerosolizing Adhesive!
Collison Nebulizer Creates Aerosol
Carrier 20 PSI Aspirates Liquid Suspension of Silver and Resins
Spray Is Directed Onto Wall of Jar
Small Drops Recoil, Producing Aerosol That Exits Through Outlet Tube
Silver Adhesive System Designed To Stay Intact Through This Process
Choice Of Solvent Is Critical
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

10. IMAPS New England Symposium
Printing Adhesive
Test Pattern Is 10 x 10 Array Of 10 mil (250 µm) Squares
Thickness Range Is µm
Built Up From Individual Drops <5 µm In Diameter
Cross Section Is Isosceles Trapezoid
Not:
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

11. Producing A Single Square
Click On Each Picture To See Video (May Not Show On All Systems)
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

12. Process / Handling Characteristics
High Velocity Jet (100 m/sec) Precisely Places Adhesive
Solvent Removal Facilitated With Heated Substrate At 60°C
Cure °
Work Life > 1 Week
Store 6 -10°C
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

13. Electrical Properties
Five Line Patterns On Alumina Substrate
Line Width = 130 µm, Height = 15 µm
Cured °C
Linear Response, Resistivity = 5 x 10-5 Ω-cm
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

14. Adhesion Properties Lap Shear Between Aluminum Plates Is 2000 PSI
Die Shear Of 15 Mil Tabs On Gold Is 3000 PSI
Cohesive Failure In All Cases
Comparable To Standard Die Attach Epoxies
Meets MIL-STD-883, Method 2019 Requirement of 882 PSI
Tg ~ 100°C
15 mil Square Kovar Tab On Needle Dispensed Nanoparticle Silver Epoxy
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

15. IMAPS New England Symposium
Technical Status
Basic Formulations Established For Aerosol Jet and Narrow Gauge Needle Dispense
Minor Modifications For Handling Optimization May Occur
Additional Characterization In Process
Thermal Conductivity
Expecting High Value Based On High Silver Content
Storage Modulus
Ionic Content
Outgassing
CTE
Work and Storage Life
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

16. IMAPS New England Symposium
Summary
New Conductive Adhesive Material Developed For Use With Novel, Non-Contact Dispense Technology
Significant Benefits Realized In Creating Small Features With Laser-Like Control On Varying Height Surfaces
Unique Adhesive Characterized By High Loading Of Nanoparticle Silver In Epoxy Resin
Optomec Aerosol Jet Systems Are Commercially Available
Applications Lab In Minnesota For Customer Support
Resin Designs Nanoparticle Silver Epoxies Available For Sampling
Aerosol Jet
Narrow Gauge Needle
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium

17. Company Links and E-Mail
Resin Designs, LLC:
Don Giroux:
Optomec, Inc.:
Kurt Christenson:
Mike Renn:
Assembly Answers, LLC:
Dan Blazej:
May 8, 2012
IMAPS New England Symposium