Technologies for printed films

The terms 'printed electronics' and 'direct-write deposition' are increasingly familiar to manufacturers and consumers of electronic products. The trend is to make use of new cost-efficient ways to mass-produce electronic devices and in prospective to open new huge product markets. There are already several applications of functional printed films, but further improvements in performance/cost ratios are envisaged, especially in 'organic electronics' and 'flexible' products. Development in these fields is progressing rapidly on several parallel paths, each with its own strengths and limitations. In this chapter, a broad overview of technologies capable of printing functional films for the microelectronic and electrical industries is presented. First, the history of the most mature and traditional print process known as 'screen printing' is delineated and the steps that have resulted in improved, increasingly integrated systems and diversified materials are retraced. Motivations for ever-increasing resolutions are then approached and technologies on which current research is mainly focused are briefly outlined.