Inkjet printing has emerged from a digital graphic arts printing technology to become a versatile tool for the patterned deposition of functional materials. This thesis contributes to the research in the area of functional inkjet printing by focusing on two different topics: (i) inkjet printing of colloidal suspensions to study the principles of deposit formation and to develop deposits with photonic properties based on self-assembly, and (ii) the development of a reliable manufacturing process for all-inkjet-printed thin-film transistors, highlighting the importance of selection of materials and inks, print pattern generation, and the interplay between ink, substrate and printing conditions. (i) Colloidal suspensions containing nanospheres were applied as ink formulation in order to study the fundamental processes of layer formation and to develop structures with periodically arranged nanospheres allowing the modulation of electromagnetic waves. Evaporation-driven self-assembly was found to be the main driver for the formation of the final deposit morphology. Fine-tuning of inkjet process parameters allows the deposition of highly ordered structures of nanospheres to be arranged as monolayer, multilayer or even three-dimensional assemblies with a microscopic spherical shape. (ii) This thesis demonstrates the development of a manufacturing process for thin-film transistors based on inkjet printing. The knowledge obtained from the study with the colloidal nanospheres is used to generate homogeneous and continuous thin films that are stacked well-aligned to each other to form transistors. Industrial printheads were applied in the manufacturing process, allowing for the up-scaling of the manufacturing by printing of several thousands of devices, and thus the possibility to study the process yield as a function of printing parameters. The discrete droplet-by-droplet nature of the inkjet printing process imposes challenges on the control of printed patterns. Inkjet printing of electronic devices requires a detailed understanding about the process and all of the parameters that influence morphological or functional characteristics of the deposits, such as the selection of appropriate inks and materials, the orientation of the print pattern layout to the deposition process and the reliability of the inkjet process.:Bibliography II Abstract III Preface and acknowledgements IV On the major results and novelty of the thesis VII Table of contents VIII List of abbreviations and symbols X List of figures XII List of tables XX 1 Introduction 1 2 Fundamentals 6 2.1 Inkjet printing – an overview 6 2.2 Piezoelectric inkjet technology and a historical overview of inkjet printing 10 2.3 Pattern and film formation in inkjet printing under the scheme of self-assembly 20 2.4 Inkjet printing of colloidal nanospheres 27 2.5 Spherical colloidal assemblies 29 2.6 All-inkjet-printed thin film transistors 31 3 Experimental section 35 3.1 Inkjet printing systems and accessories 35 3.2 Inks and substrates 38 3.3 Print patterns 43 3.4 Post-processing 46 3.5 Optical, morphological and functional characterization 47 4 Inkjet printing of colloidal nanospheres: Evaporation-driven self-assembly based on ink-substrate interaction 49 4.1 Single droplet deposit morphology: Interaction of substrate and ink 49 4.2 Optical properties of inkjet-printed single droplet monolayers and multilayers 54 5 Inkjet printing of colloidal nanospheres: Evaporation-driven self-assembly of SCAs independent on substrate properties 58 5.1 Inkjet printing of spherical colloidal assemblies and their identification 58 5.2 Fine-tuning of the waveform applied to the printhead 60 5.3 Interaction of substrate and ink 66 5.4 Structures, morphologies and materials of SCAs 68 5.5 Optical properties of SCAs 76 6 Inkjet printing of TFTs: Process development and process reliability 80 6.1 Influence of print layout design 80 6.2 Selection of materials and inks 91 6.3 Manufacturing workflow and electrical TFT parameters 108 6.4 Manufacturing yields and failure origins 113 7 Summary and conclusion 124 References 127 Documentation of authorship and contribution of third persons 149 List of publications 151 APPENDIX A Formation of colloidal hemispheres on hydrophobic PTFE substrates 161 APPENDIX B Inkjet-printed higher-order cluster with N < 100 using BL280 162 APPENDIX C Inkjet-printed SCAs based on BS305 with similar sizes and inkjet-printed SCA based on PSC221 163 APPENDIX D Microreflectance spectra of SCAs and the processing of the spectra using the Savitzky-Golay filter with a second-order polynomial and a moving window of 100 data points 164 APPENDIX E Waveform, drop ejection and photographs of the printed patterns of Sun Chemical EMD5603 and UTDots UTDAgIJ1 165 APPENDIX F Smoothening of profiles obtained by profilometry of EMD5603 and UTDAgIJ1 and dependency of print resolution of layer height 166 APPENDIX G Percentage of area increase based on a 4 mm x 4 mm digital print pattern using the ink Harima NPS-JL and influence of print resolution and post-treatment temperature on sheets resistance 168 APPENDIX H Cross-sectional view of a TFT stack printed with the dielectric Sun Chemical EMD6415 that shows high layer thickness due to ink contraction after the deposition as presented in Figure 46 169 APPENDIX I Influence of printing parameters on the dielectric layer applied in the TFT 170 APPENDIX J Reduction of channel length by decreasing the S-D electrode channel length in the print pattern layout 171

A presente dissertação de mestrado tem o propósito de relatar o desenvolvimento de um sensor planar eletroquímico com três eletrodos para o monitoramento de nitrito e seus interferentes (ácido úrico, ácido ascórbico e paracetamol). Para tal, no procedimento experimental é descrito o desenvolvimento do aparato extracorpóreo (mini-bomba compressora, válvulas solenóides e cela de análise). Esse é acoplado a um sistema de Análise por Injeção em Fluxo Automatizada (do inglês, Flow-injection Analysis) FIA-automatizada. Este trabalho também descreve a fabricação dos sensores em substrato de alumina, o processo de limpeza padrão dos eletrodos, o processo de obtenção dos eletrodos de referência em HCl (0,1 mol L-1) e ativação eletroquímica da superfície do eletrodo de trabalho com H2SO4 (0,1 mol L-1). Em seguida, é mostrada a estabilização dos eletrodos de referência Ag/AgCl em solução salina contendo cloretos, o estudo da secagem dos eletrodos em temperatura ambiente com exposição à luz e a caracterização dos mesmos por três métodos distintos, a saber: i) teste de reversibilidade (corrente redox vs. potencial); ii) variação do potencial com o tempo (coeficiente de degradação termodinâmica) e iii) variação do potencial com a concentração de cloretos. Também, apresenta-se a caracterização da área efetiva exposta do eletrodo de medição (trabalho) e os resultados da deposição de 1-2 Diaminobenzeno (DAB) como polímero seletivo. Além disso, são apresentados os resultados e discussões dos pseudo-eletrodos (recoberto ou não com Náfion® 117). Um ponto relacionado, a histerese associada à irreversibilidade dos eletrodos de referência resultou da ordem de 40 mVAg/AgCl Náfion® 117. Os potencias termodinâmicos observados foram da ordem de 100 ± 6 mVAg/AgCl Náfion® 117 para pseudo-eletrodo de referência sem e com Náfion® 117. Depois, foi realizado um estudo criterioso dos potenciais de resposta ao nitrito e aos interferentes por meio da técnica de DPV (do inglês, Differencial Pulse Voltammetry). Para evitar degradação acelerada (corrosão) do polímero sobre o eletrodo de trabalho, optou-se por realizar as medições com potencial igual a 0,50 VAg/AgCl Náfion® 117. Nessa condição, apresenta-se a monitoração de nitrito por FIA-automatizada na faixa de concentração de 50 a 250 mol L-1. Os resultados para a medição de nitrito mostraram que o sensor planar eletroquímico amperométrico desenvolvido é promissor, pois esse apresentou ótimo desempenho de reprodutividade (99,66%), sensibilidade (90 microA mol-1 L mm-2), seletividade (0,32%), repetitividade (91,28%) e estabilidade (15 ± 0,3 pA). / In this Master of Science, it has been developed an electrochemical planar sensor defined with three electrodes for nitrite measuring and its interferents (uric acid, ascorbic acid and paracetamol). In the experimental procedure, it is shown the development of an extracorporis set up (mini-pump, solenoid valves and analysis cell) which is coupled to a system of Flow-injection Analysis (FIA). This work also describes the sensor fabrication using alumina substrates, the standard cleaning of the electrodes, the process to obtain Ag/AgCl reference electrodes in HCl (0.1 mol L-1) and electrochemical activation of the working-electrode surface with H2SO4 (0.1 mol L-1). Following, it is shown the study of drying for electrodes at room temperature with exposition to room light and their characterization using three different methods: i) reversibility test (redox current vs. potential); ii) variation of the potential with the time (thermodynamics degradation coefficient) and iii) variation of the potential with the chloride concentration. Also, it is presented the characterization of the effective exposed area of the working electrode and the results of the deposited 1-2 Diaminobenzene (DAB) is presented as a selective polymer. In addition, the results and discussions of the pseudo-reference (recovered or not with Nafion® 117) are presented. Related to irreversibility is the hysteresis associated to the reference electrodes which resulted in the order of 40 mVAg/AgCl Nafion® 117. The observed thermodynamic potentials were of (100 ± 6) mVAg/AgCl Nafion® 117 for pseudo-electrodes recovered with Nafion® 117. Later on, a careful study of the response to nitrite and to its interferents was performed by means of the DPV technique (Differential Pulse Voltammetry). In order to avoid accelerated degradation (corrosion) of the polymer, measurements were performed at a potential of 0,5 VAg/AgCl Nafion® 117. In this condition, nitrite was monitored using the automatized-FIA (Flow Injection Analysis) for concentration in the range of 50 to 250 mol L-1. The results have shown that the planar amperometric sensor for nitrite measuring is usefull since it was observed excellent performance related to reproducibility (99.66%), sensitivity (90 microA mol-1 L mm-2), selectivity (0.32%), repetibility (91.28%) and stability (15.0 ± 0.3 pA).

by Mok Chun-Hung. / Thesis (M.B.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1987. / Bibliography: leaves 72-75.

Solution processed circuits are expected to be the main components to achieve low cost, large area, flexible electronics. However, the commercialization of solution processed flexible electronics face several challenges. The passive component such as capacitors are limited in frequency range and operating voltage. The active component such as transistors suffer from low mobility ultimately leading to limited current-carrying capacity. Just as in traditional silicon technology, the fabrication process and material choices significantly impact the performance of the fabricated devices. My thesis focuses on the optimization of the performance of printed capacitors and transistors through investigation of several aspects of the device structure and fabrication process. The first part of this work focuses on the optimization of printed nanoparticle/polymer composite capacitors. Thin film metal oxide nanoparticle/polymer composites have enormous potential to achieve printable high-k dielectrics. The combination of high-k ceramic nanoparticle and polymer enables room temperature deposition of high dielectric constant film without the need of high temperature sintering process. The polymer matrix host fills the packing voids left behind by the nanoparticles resulting to higher effective dielectric permittivity as a system and suppresses surface states leading to reduced dielectric loss. Such composite systems have been employed in a number of flexible electronic applications such as the dielectrics in capacitors and thin film transistors. One of the most important properties of thin film capacitors is the breakdown field. In a typical capacitor system, the breakdown process leads to catastrophic failure that destroys the capacitor; however, in a nanoparticle/polymer composite system with self-healing property, the point of breakdown is not well-defined. The breakdown of the dielectric or electrodes in the system limits the leakage observed. It is possible, however, to define a voltage/field tolerance. Field tolerance is defined as the highest practical field at which the device stays operational with low failure rate by qualifying the devices with defined leakage current density. In my work, the optimization of the field tolerance of (Ba,Sr)TiO₃ (BST)/parylene-C composite capacitors is achieved by studying the influence of the electromigration parameter on leakage and field strength through the inherit asymmetrical structure of the fabricated capacitors. One approach to creating these composites is to use a spin-coated nanoparticle film together with vapor deposited polymers, which can yield high performance, but also forms a structurally asymmetric device. The performance of a nanoparticle BST/parylene-C composite capacitor is compared to that of a nanoparticle BST capacitor without the polymer layer under both directions of bias. The composite device shows a five orders of magnitude improvement in the leakage current under positive bias of the bottom electrode relative to the pure-particle device, and four orders of magnitude improvement when the top electrode is positively biased. The voltage tolerance of the device is also improved, and it is asymmetric (44 V vs. 28 V in bottom and top positive bias, respectively). This study demonstrates the advantage of this class of composite device construction, but also shows that proper application of the device bias in this type of asymmetrical system can yield an additional benefit. The dependence of the field tolerance of nanoparticle/polymer composite capacitors on the electromigration parameter of the electrodes is investigated using the symmetrical dielectric system. The breakdown is suppressed by selecting the polarity used in nanoparticle (Ba,Sr)TiO₃/parylene-C composite film-based capacitors. Metals including gold, silver, copper, chromium, and aluminum with comparable surface conditions were examined as the electrodes. The asymmetric silver, aluminum, gold, copper, and chromium electrode devices show a 64 %, 29 %, 28 %, 17 %, 33 %, improvement in the effective maximum operating field, respectively, when comparing bias polarity. The field at which filament formation is observed shows a clear dependence on the electromigration properties of the electrode material and demonstrates that use of electromigration resistant metal electrodes offers an additional route to improving the performance of capacitors using this nanoparticle/polymer composite architecture. The second part of my thesis focuses on the novel pneumatic printing process that enables manipulation of the crystal growth of the organic semiconductors to achieve oriented crystal with high mobility. Small molecule organic semiconductors are attracting immense attention as the active material for the large-area flexible electronics due to their solution processability, mechanical flexibility, and potential for high performance. However, the ability to rapidly pattern and deposit multiple materials and control the thin-film morphology are significant challenges facing industrial scale production. A novel and simple pneumatic nozzle printing approach is developed to control the crystallization of organic thin-films and deposit multiple materials with wide range of viscosity including on the same substrate. Pneumatic printing uses capillary action between the nozzle and substrate combined with control of air pressure to dispense the solution from a dispense tip with a reservoir. Orientation and size of the crystals is controlled by tuning the printing direction, speed, and the temperature of the substrate. The main advantages of pneumatic printing technique are 1) simple setup and process, 2) multi-material layered deposition applicable to wide range of solution viscosity, 3) control over crystal growth. The manipulation of crystal growth will be discussed in the next chapter. This method for performance optimization and patterning has great potential for advancing printed electronics. The dependence of the mobility of printed thin film 6,13-bis(triisopropylsilylethynyl) pentacene [TIPS-pentacene] and C8-BTBT on printing conditions is investigated, and the result indicates that the formation of well-ordered crystals occurs at an optimal head translation speed. A maximum mobility of 0.75 cm²/(Vs) is achieved with 0.3 mm/s printing speed and 1.3 cm²/(Vs) with 0.3 mm/s printing speed at 50C for TIPS-pentacene and C8-BTBT respectively. In summary, pneumatic printing technique can be an attractive route to industrial scale large area flexible electronics fabrication.

A presente dissertação de mestrado tem o propósito de relatar o desenvolvimento de um sensor planar eletroquímico com três eletrodos para o monitoramento de nitrito e seus interferentes (ácido úrico, ácido ascórbico e paracetamol). Para tal, no procedimento experimental é descrito o desenvolvimento do aparato extracorpóreo (mini-bomba compressora, válvulas solenóides e cela de análise). Esse é acoplado a um sistema de Análise por Injeção em Fluxo Automatizada (do inglês, Flow-injection Analysis) FIA-automatizada. Este trabalho também descreve a fabricação dos sensores em substrato de alumina, o processo de limpeza padrão dos eletrodos, o processo de obtenção dos eletrodos de referência em HCl (0,1 mol L-1) e ativação eletroquímica da superfície do eletrodo de trabalho com H2SO4 (0,1 mol L-1). Em seguida, é mostrada a estabilização dos eletrodos de referência Ag/AgCl em solução salina contendo cloretos, o estudo da secagem dos eletrodos em temperatura ambiente com exposição à luz e a caracterização dos mesmos por três métodos distintos, a saber: i) teste de reversibilidade (corrente redox vs. potencial); ii) variação do potencial com o tempo (coeficiente de degradação termodinâmica) e iii) variação do potencial com a concentração de cloretos. Também, apresenta-se a caracterização da área efetiva exposta do eletrodo de medição (trabalho) e os resultados da deposição de 1-2 Diaminobenzeno (DAB) como polímero seletivo. Além disso, são apresentados os resultados e discussões dos pseudo-eletrodos (recoberto ou não com Náfion® 117). Um ponto relacionado, a histerese associada à irreversibilidade dos eletrodos de referência resultou da ordem de 40 mVAg/AgCl Náfion® 117. Os potencias termodinâmicos observados foram da ordem de 100 ± 6 mVAg/AgCl Náfion® 117 para pseudo-eletrodo de referência sem e com Náfion® 117. Depois, foi realizado um estudo criterioso dos potenciais de resposta ao nitrito e aos interferentes por meio da técnica de DPV (do inglês, Differencial Pulse Voltammetry). Para evitar degradação acelerada (corrosão) do polímero sobre o eletrodo de trabalho, optou-se por realizar as medições com potencial igual a 0,50 VAg/AgCl Náfion® 117. Nessa condição, apresenta-se a monitoração de nitrito por FIA-automatizada na faixa de concentração de 50 a 250 mol L-1. Os resultados para a medição de nitrito mostraram que o sensor planar eletroquímico amperométrico desenvolvido é promissor, pois esse apresentou ótimo desempenho de reprodutividade (99,66%), sensibilidade (90 microA mol-1 L mm-2), seletividade (0,32%), repetitividade (91,28%) e estabilidade (15 ± 0,3 pA). / In this Master of Science, it has been developed an electrochemical planar sensor defined with three electrodes for nitrite measuring and its interferents (uric acid, ascorbic acid and paracetamol). In the experimental procedure, it is shown the development of an extracorporis set up (mini-pump, solenoid valves and analysis cell) which is coupled to a system of Flow-injection Analysis (FIA). This work also describes the sensor fabrication using alumina substrates, the standard cleaning of the electrodes, the process to obtain Ag/AgCl reference electrodes in HCl (0.1 mol L-1) and electrochemical activation of the working-electrode surface with H2SO4 (0.1 mol L-1). Following, it is shown the study of drying for electrodes at room temperature with exposition to room light and their characterization using three different methods: i) reversibility test (redox current vs. potential); ii) variation of the potential with the time (thermodynamics degradation coefficient) and iii) variation of the potential with the chloride concentration. Also, it is presented the characterization of the effective exposed area of the working electrode and the results of the deposited 1-2 Diaminobenzene (DAB) is presented as a selective polymer. In addition, the results and discussions of the pseudo-reference (recovered or not with Nafion® 117) are presented. Related to irreversibility is the hysteresis associated to the reference electrodes which resulted in the order of 40 mVAg/AgCl Nafion® 117. The observed thermodynamic potentials were of (100 ± 6) mVAg/AgCl Nafion® 117 for pseudo-electrodes recovered with Nafion® 117. Later on, a careful study of the response to nitrite and to its interferents was performed by means of the DPV technique (Differential Pulse Voltammetry). In order to avoid accelerated degradation (corrosion) of the polymer, measurements were performed at a potential of 0,5 VAg/AgCl Nafion® 117. In this condition, nitrite was monitored using the automatized-FIA (Flow Injection Analysis) for concentration in the range of 50 to 250 mol L-1. The results have shown that the planar amperometric sensor for nitrite measuring is usefull since it was observed excellent performance related to reproducibility (99.66%), sensitivity (90 microA mol-1 L mm-2), selectivity (0.32%), repetibility (91.28%) and stability (15.0 ± 0.3 pA).

In this thesis, new all-printed capacitors are developed for the applications of energy storage, filter, and resonant circuits by using new dielectric material and an advanced technology. The innovative devices provide satisficing electrical performances with high breakdown voltages and capacitance densities. The main body of this thesis is divided in three parts. The first part is to introduce the fundamental background of printing technologies, electrical capacitors and printable materials. Among all the printing technologies, direct writing family is the most advantageous in the small-scale and fast production of printed electronics due to the properties of masterless processing, digital control, and print-on-demand. Both inkjet printing and ultrasonic fluid dispensing applied in this work are grouped into the direct writing family. A cross-linkable dielectric material poly(methyl methacrylate)84/(4-benzoylphenyl methacrylate)16 [P(MMA84/BPMA16)] exhibits the optimized chemical and mechanical stabilities in comparison with uncross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoro ethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] exhibits a high dielectric constant of 16. The great advantages of both polymeric dielectrics make them ideal for printed electronics. The second part is devoted to the preparation of printed thin-film capacitors by providing four different layouts and architectures for multiple electronic applications. The printing setup, process setting and steps are summarized in detail. The following part which is the major content of this thesis is divided into two aspects: in the first aspect, the intriguing new form of continuous solution dispensing technology, ultrasonic fluid dispensing, is demonstrated as an alternative printing technology for the commonly applied ones. In comparison with the widely-used inkjet printing, continuous solution dispensing is the most advantageous in thin-film capacitor processing with metal nanoparticle and polymer dielectric inks. It enables precise pattern transfers with low surface roughness, small feature size (as small as 5 μm), and accurate positioning (5 μm resolution). Most importantly, problems due to discrete droplets and nozzle clogging in inkjet printing are avoided in continuous solution dispensing. All the inks applied for printed capacitors in this work are printed successfully with this innovating technology. Direct printing on demand and rapid switching among different inks are some other attributes of this printing technology that enable high throughput. The second aspect of this part is to characterize and evaluate the fabricated capacitors. The measured values include capacitor dimension, dielectric strength, capacitance density, energy density, charge/discharge behavior and so on. In summary, this work provides not only the use of the advantageous materials P(MMA84/BPMA16) and P(VDF-TrFE) in high-performance capacitors, but also paves the way of developing thin-film capacitors with a new continuous solution dispensing technology which makes the low-cost and high-quality manufacture of printed devices possible.

In this thesis, new all-printed capacitors are developed for the applications of energy storage, filter, and resonant circuits by using new dielectric material and an advanced technology. The innovative devices provide satisficing electrical performances with high breakdown voltages and capacitance densities. The main body of this thesis is divided in three parts. The first part is to introduce the fundamental background of printing technologies, electrical capacitors and printable materials. Among all the printing technologies, direct writing family is the most advantageous in the small-scale and fast production of printed electronics due to the properties of masterless processing, digital control, and print-on-demand. Both inkjet printing and ultrasonic fluid dispensing applied in this work are grouped into the direct writing family. A cross-linkable dielectric material poly(methyl methacrylate)84/(4-benzoylphenyl methacrylate)16 [P(MMA84/BPMA16)] exhibits the optimized chemical and mechanical stabilities in comparison with uncross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoro ethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] exhibits a high dielectric constant of 16. The great advantages of both polymeric dielectrics make them ideal for printed electronics. The second part is devoted to the preparation of printed thin-film capacitors by providing four different layouts and architectures for multiple electronic applications. The printing setup, process setting and steps are summarized in detail. The following part which is the major content of this thesis is divided into two aspects: in the first aspect, the intriguing new form of continuous solution dispensing technology, ultrasonic fluid dispensing, is demonstrated as an alternative printing technology for the commonly applied ones. In comparison with the widely-used inkjet printing, continuous solution dispensing is the most advantageous in thin-film capacitor processing with metal nanoparticle and polymer dielectric inks. It enables precise pattern transfers with low surface roughness, small feature size (as small as 5 μm), and accurate positioning (5 μm resolution). Most importantly, problems due to discrete droplets and nozzle clogging in inkjet printing are avoided in continuous solution dispensing. All the inks applied for printed capacitors in this work are printed successfully with this innovating technology. Direct printing on demand and rapid switching among different inks are some other attributes of this printing technology that enable high throughput. The second aspect of this part is to characterize and evaluate the fabricated capacitors. The measured values include capacitor dimension, dielectric strength, capacitance density, energy density, charge/discharge behavior and so on. In summary, this work provides not only the use of the advantageous materials P(MMA84/BPMA16) and P(VDF-TrFE) in high-performance capacitors, but also paves the way of developing thin-film capacitors with a new continuous solution dispensing technology which makes the low-cost and high-quality manufacture of printed devices possible.

Det här projektet har utförts i samarbete med företaget Eskilstuna Elektronikpartner AB (EEPAB). Företaget arbetar med tillverkning av kretskort där de använder sig av ytmontering och hålmontering. Vissa mönsterkort kan vara böjda och kan därmed orsaka problem i Surface Mount Device (SMD)-linan. Syftet med projektet var att ta fram en fixtur som gör mönsterkorten planare vilket innebär att minska höjdskillnaden mellan högsta och lägsta punkten på korten. Detta för att effektivisera och förhindra stopp i produktionen. Två forskningsfrågor togs fram som fungerade som ett stöd under projektets gång: F1:Hur förbättras produktionen i en SMD-lina när mönsterkorten hålls plana? F2:Vilka faktorer bör beaktas när en fixtur tas fram för en SMD-lina? Projektet har följt en produktutvecklingsprocess där fokuset har legat på konceptstadiet. Data har samlats in genomen litteraturstudie, intervjuer samt ett formulär. Projektet resulterade i ett slutgiltigt koncept i form av en fixtur. Resultatet i projektet visar att genom att spänna fast mönsterkortets kortsidor så minskas nedböjningen. Genom planare mönsterkort minskas risken för fel mängdapplicering av lödpasta som i sin tur kan orsaka kortslutning eller en öppen slutning. Att problemen med fel mängd lödpasta minskas leder även till att manuellt arbete som tvättning och applicering av lödpasta kan reduceras. När lödpasta appliceras för hand är det även svårt att veta om rätt mängd har applicerats, detta kan även leda till problem under lödningen. Sedan kan det konstateras att designen av fixturen måste samspela med alla maskiner i SMD-linan för att inte orsaka problem eller hindra maskinerna från att utföra dess arbete. Utifrån ett koncepttest visade det sig att det framtagna konceptet gör mönsterkorten cirka 42% planare. Detta bör kunna minska problemen i SMD-linan och spara in tiden det tar att åtgärda dessa problem. Koncepttestet utfördes inte i den rätta maskinen och måste därmed undersökas ordentligt. Det var endast ett sorts mönsterkort som testades, dessa faktorer är exempel på felkällor. I framtiden bör ett flertal olika mönsterkort testas för att få en högre reliabilitet. Det behövs även tas fram en exakt tolerans för när mönsterkorten är för böjda och problem uppstår. I dagsläget finns endast maskinens egentolerans som inte stämmer särskilt bra och en generell tolerans för SMD-linor.

Printed and organic electronics have been intensely researched in the past few years, and their potential low-cost and sustainability benefits combined with their unique form properties makes them interesting from a product design perspective. However, there has been a lack of product design with printed and organic electronics, which has created a gap between research and market. The aim of this thesis is to find an application of printed and organic electronics in a previously unexplored application area. The thesis includes interviews and workshops with relevant actors, a SWOT analysis, and idea generation through brainstorming. It is found that printed and organic traceability tags (RFID/NFC) have the potential to facilitate circular business models in the fashion industry if they are developed to fulfil the identified requirements.  Three concepts of how traceability tags can facilitate rental fashion are developed. The main identified potential benefits for the rental companies are reduced logistics costs and the possibility of data collection. The potentially low cost of printed and organic traceability tags would also enable rental companies with smaller profit margins to implement a digital traceability solution which would help the survival of these companies and accelerate the shift towards circular fashion. These findings contribute with a new possible application of printed and organic electronics. In order to reach the identified benefits, more research on printed and organic traceability tags is needed, as well as a full product development process of the three concepts. To really know whether this and other identified applications of POE could be viable on the market there is a need for economic and performance analysis to determine whether their applications can be successful. Further the authors also see a need for life cycle analyses on all types of POE applications to determine their environmental impact.

No description available.