Aerosol Jetting Nanostructured Copper Towards High Temperature

Background:

Copper is the electrical conductor metal of choice based on price, availability and efficiency.  However, copper has limitations for printing high density circuits and heat resistance.  High-Temperature Copper–Graphene Conductors via Aerosol Jetting, Adv. Eng. Mater. 2022, 2200284

Technology Overview:

Copper is converted to a printable ink based on copper nanoplates with incorporated graphene.  The ink is amenable to standard aerosol jet printers (aka direct-write manufacturing).  This form of printing supports high density circuit production on ceramic substrates using water as the solvent.  The graphene component synergistically increases the ampacity and thermal stability of the copper ink.

Advantages:

• Temperature resistance (up to 1000ºC)
• High ampacity
• Corrosion resistant
• Flexible printing characteristics allowing high density circuit printing
• Environmentally friendly solvent

Applications:

• Sensors
• Actuators
• Antennas
• Energy conversion devices
• Aerospace
• High temperature environments

Intellectual Property Summary:

Patent pending

Stage of Development:

TRL 4 (Technology validated in lab)

Licensing Status:

Available for licensing.