This document discusses roll-to-roll printing of functional nanodevices. It begins with an introduction of the need for roll-to-roll printing and the current status and techniques of the technology. It then discusses various materials that can be deposited through roll-to-roll printing like nanotubes and nanowires to create devices. Specific examples of graphene-based devices are provided. The document concludes with outlining a design flow for creating a specific application like an integrated oxygen generator and sensor for wound healing through roll-to-roll printing.

1. Tejasvi Parupudi
Dec 8, 2015
PhD student, ZBML
Birck Nanotechnology Center
sparupud@purdue.edu
ROLL TO ROLL (R2R)
PRINTING OF
FUNCTIONAL NANODEVICES
IE 590

2. NEED FOR R2R PRINTING
STATUS QUO OF R2R TECHNOLOGY
TECHNIQUES FOR MATERIAL DEPOSITION
NANODEVICES BASED ON NTS AND NWS
CASE STUDY: GRAPHENE BASED DEVICES
DESIGN FLOW FOR SPECIFIC APPLICATION
CONTENTS

3. WHAT IS SCALABLE NANOMANUFACTURING
Nanomanufacturing Platforms
•Roll-to-Roll Process
•Inkjet Printing
Current NEED exists in developing R2R compatible:
•Materials
•Processes
•Applications
Desired OUTCOMES
• Fabrication of hybrid functional electronic and
photonic devices
•Fabrication of solar cells (energy harvesting)
•Fabrication of biomedical devices
https://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=13347
“NANOMANUFACTURING IS THE PRODUCTION OF USEFUL NANO-SCALE MATERIALS,
STRUCTURES, DEVICES AND SYSTEMS IN AN ECONOMICALLY VIABLE MANNER”
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Flexible electronics (multi-device
multi-functional) system-on-film
Cooper, K. P., & Wachter, R. F. (2012, October). High-rate, roll-to-roll nanomanufacturing of flexible systems. In SPIE NanoScience+
Engineering (pp. 846602-846602). International Society for Optics and Photonics.
Technology needs

4. WHAT IS R2R
“COATING AND PRINTING TECHNIQUES THAT WERE DEVELOPED DUE TO THE NEED TO SCALE UP
MANUFACTURING AT LOW COST FOR LARGE SCALE DEPLOYMENT ON FLEXIBLE SUBSTRATES
EARN THE NAME ROLL-TO-ROLL”
Process mechanisms
•Material Deposition
•Patterning
•Laminating and Sealing
Advantages
•High production rates and yields
•Reduced cost of manufacturing
•Continuous production of mass quantities
http://energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2015/02/f19/QTR%20Ch8%20-%20Roll%20To%20Roll%20Processing%20TA%20Feb-13-2015.pdf
Khan, S., et al. (2015). Technologies for Printing Sensors and Electronics over Large Flexible Substrates: A Review. Sensors Journal,
IEEE, 15(6), 3164-3185.
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5. STATUS QUO OF R2R
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R2R Vacuum web coating1
1http://www.intelli-vation.com/roll-to-roll-thin-film-web-coating-tools/
2Lee, M. H et al. (2011). Roll-to-roll anodization and etching of aluminum foils for high-throughput surface nanotexturing.
Nano letters,11(8), 3425-3430.
3Välimäki, M., et al. (2015). R2R-printed inverted OPV modules–towards arbitrary patterned designs. Nanoscale, 7(21), 9570-9580.
Surface nanotexturing of Aluminum foils2
OPV Modules by R2R3

6. Screen Printing Flexo printing
Inkjet printing
Spin Coating Spray Coating
Blade Coating Slot-die Coating Gravure printing/coating
COATING METHODS PRINTING METHODS
MATERIAL DEPOSITION
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7. Engraved cylinder roll
cells (30R,90R,180R)
Slot-die
coating head
MICROGRAVURE ROLL PRINTING SLOT DIE ROLL COATING
MIRWEC MATERIAL DEPOSITION
http://www.mirwecfilm.com/microgravure.php
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8. Moving
Web
Ink Bath
20-50mm
diameter
Metal cylinder with
chrome-plated
coating
GRAVURE ROLL COATING
Slot containing
ink
SLOT DIE ROLL COATING
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9. Parameter Slot Die Microgravure Inkjet
Viscosity (Pa.s) 0.001-25 0.001-2 0.001-0.03
Line speed Faster speed gives less
thickness
Faster speed gives less
thickness
Dependent on ink
properties
Layer thickness
control
Web speed and ink
flow rate
Roller to web speed ratio,
pattern and depth of roller
cells
Number of droplets
jetted
Applications Multilayer ceramic
capacitors, Li-ion
rechargeable battery
electrodes, Polyimide
coating for flexible
printed circuits,
polymer solar cell
layers etc
Nano polymer films, 3D
holograms, LCD displays
etc
Active membrane
layers, polymer inks,
conductive inks,
transparent
electrode gels etc
COMPARISON OF PROCESSES
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10. INKS FOR R2R PROCESSES
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•Water-based inks: 100s of cP
•UV inks*: 1000-5000 cP
•PDMS: 850-1150 cP
• Viscosity
• Conductivity
• Wettability
• Packing density (particle size)
• UV polymerizable hydrogel
Eg: PEGDMA
• Biofunctional nanoparticles,
nanotubes
• Bacterial and viral cell
suspensions
• Temperature resistant cell
cultures
FEW TUNABLE PROPERTIES OF INKS VISCOSITY OF COMMON INK TYPES
BIOMATERIALS FOR R2R
Derby, B. (2010). Inkjet printing of functional and structural materials: fluid property requirements, feature stability, and
resolution. Annual Review of Materials Research, 40, 395-414.
*http://www.rupainks.com/uv-inks.html
PRINTABLE INKJET INK SELECTION

11. WEB MATERIALS FOR R2R
Poly Ethylene Terephthalate (PET)
Max. process temperature: 150C
50µm thick, 180 mm wide
PolyEthylene Naphthalate (PEN)
Max. process temperature: 180C
PolyImide (PI) or Kapton
Max. process temperature: 350C
Biaxially Oriented PolyPropylene (BOPP)
Max. Process Temperature: 100C
Poly Carbonate (PC)
Max. Process Temperature: 150C
Parchment Paper
Max. Process Temperature: 230C
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12. PRACTICAL ISSUES WITH R2R PRINTING
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1. LIMITED AMOUNT OF WEB MATERIALS
2. PROCESS REPEATABILITY
3. ACCURACY OF PRINTS
4. LACK OF STANDARDIZATION OF R2R PROCESS
SUGGESTIONS TO OVERCOME ISSUES :
1. EXPLORE COMPOSITE MATERIALS (POLYMER + METAL) OR (POLYMER + CELLULOSE) TO
BENEFIT FROM BOTH PROPERTIES
2. RUN STATISTICAL DESIGN OF EXPERIMENTS ANALYSIS TO GET TRENDS FOR PROCESS
PARAMETERS
3. PRECISION STAMPS FOR REPLICATION
4. STANDARDIZATION OF “EQUIPMENT, MATERIALS, TESTING METHODS, AND THE EDUCATION OF
THIS TECHNOLOGY”1
1Hoffman, J., et al. (2013). The standardization of printable materials and direct writing
systems. Journal of Electronic Packaging, 135(1), 011006.

13. PATTERNING
Lim, H., et al., (2014). Roll-to-roll nanoimprint lithography for patterning on a large-area substrate
roll. Microelectronic Engineering, 123, 18-22.

14. NANODEVICES FROM CNTS AND AG NWS
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MWCNT based IR Sensors1
AgNW/ ZnO based ITO free transparent electrodes2
1John, J., et al. (2014). Suspended Multiwall Carbon Nanotube‐Based Infrared Sensors via Roll‐to‐Roll
Fabrication. Advanced Optical Materials, 2(6), 581-587.
2Angmo, D., et al. (2015). Roll‐to‐Roll Printed Silver Nanowire Semitransparent Electrodes for Fully Ambient
Solution‐Processed Tandem Polymer Solar Cells. Advanced Functional Materials, 25(28), 4539-4547.
3 Allen, M., et al. (2011). R2R gravure and inkjet printed RF resonant tag. Microelectronic
engineering, 88(11), 3293-3299.
All R2R printed resonant RFID tag3

15. TRADITIONAL VS STATE-OF-ART NANODEVICE
FABRICATION TECHNIQUES
Transfer Printing: Graphene
Advantage: Scalable
Bae, S. et al., Nat. Nanotechnology. 2010, 5, 574.
Patterning: He ion beam milling
Advantage: Customizable
Case Study: Graphene

16. ROLL-TO-ROLL GRAPHENE DEVICES
Performance of monolayer graphene film :
Graphene based flexible touch-screen display
(Graphene is used as transparent electrode)

17. DESIGN FLOW FOR FUNCTIONAL NANODEVICE FABRICATION :
SPECIFIC EXAMPLE
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Eg Application: In-situ Oxygen monitoring for wound healing
Device: Integrated nanoscale oxygen generator and sensor
Process: Layer by layer assembled device
1. Suitable material selection (KMnO4 and H2O2)
2. Suitable web selection (parchment paper) – requiring optimization of
temperature, chemical sensitivity
3. Web processing (laser treatment) to render it hydrophilic for aq. phase reaction
4. Patterned spots with catalyst for oxygen generation (Layer 1)
5. Additional layer patterned with sensing material (Layer 2)
6. Overlay registration of both layers
7. Packaging

18. THANK YOU
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