Technology Opportunity: Optical Aerosol Transport Sensor
Closed Special Notice Posted
- Solicitation number
- 2024-04-01-D
- Agency
-
Department of Energy
- Responses due
- Set-aside
- No set-aside
Opportunity facts
- Place of performance
- Oak Ridge, Tennessee, United States
- Points of contact
Notice details come from SAM.gov. Updated .
About this opportunity
This Special Notice from the Department of Energy describes a technology opportunity related to optical aerosol transport sensors for aerosol-jet printing (AJP), an additive manufacturing technique for constructing electronic devices and systems. AJP faces challenges with resolution, feature density, yield predictability, reliability, and device performance.
The purpose of this notice is to introduce a new technology that provides a method to infer physical properties of aerosolized ink before deposition, including aerosol refractive index and particle distribution parameters. This real-time monitoring and control capability can improve the predictability and yield of AJP processes, reducing the need for manual oversight and enabling extended printing runs. The Department of Energy is seeking interest from potential partners to learn more about this technology. The notice includes a due date of June 1, 2024 for inquiries, and indicates this technology could be applicable for a range of printing and additive manufacturing applications in consumer electronics and wireless devices.
Notice text
Invention Reference Number: 202205182
Technology Summary
Aerosol-jet printing (AJP) is an important emerging additive manufacturing (AM) technology for constructing electronic devices and systems, such as circuit boards. But there are key challenges: resolution and feature density limitations; lower yield predictability; reliability; and device performance. This technology provides controls for stabilizing or manipulating the AJP outcomes in real time. The invention provides a method to infer physical properties of aerosolized ink before it has been deposited on a target substrate. Properties include aerosol refractive index and particle distribution parameters including number density and diameter distribution.
Description
AJP is a direct-write additive electronics manufacturing process with high resolution and the ability to print on 3D surfaces, but is limited in yield and has high costs. Its low predictability in an open-loop process produces high variation and low yield. This technology enables closed-loop processing, where controls can be updated in real time. This technology utilizes a low-cost optical spectrometer to monitor the properties of the aerosol stream that deposits the ink. This provides information on stream density, droplet distribution, and material properties of the stream. These properties determine how much material is being deposited using an aerosol, as well as the kinetics of material deposition which determine factors including line and edge definition. Typical printing in this realm requires manual oversight, but this technology will enable real time controls, eliminating that need, and allow for extended printing runs without interruption. Using LEDs and photodiodes, the invention relies on measuring the pattern of light scattering at only a few wavelengths, but at numerous scattering angles. This enables the inference of the aerosol’s optical properties and droplet distribution, from scattering measurements.
Benefits
- First of its kind to monitor with sensitivity to aerosol droplet distribution
- Less costly
- Provides multiple scattering angles
- Enables real time control
- Can run for extended periods continuously
- Reduces need for manual oversight
- Increases reliability and yield
- Provides knowledge of variables determining line morphology
Applications and Industries
- Printing for additive manufacturing
- Consumer electronics
- Antennas for wireless devices
Contact
To learn more about this technology, email partnerships@ornl.gov or call 865-574-1051.
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