Functional Materials: Inks, Pastes, Adhesives, & Coatings

Functional Materials for Printed Electronics

Printed electronics, a rapidly evolving field at the intersection of technology and manufacturing, rely on functional materials to bring innovative ideas to life. These functional materials include inks, pastes, and coatings that are formulated with conductive particles such as silver and carbon. ACI Materials’ high-performing functional materials are created using a patented process based on cavitation, which is environmentally friendly and enables materials with higher conductivity and better mechanical performance.

Conductive inks unlock a world of possibilities, offering flexible, lightweight, and cost-effective solutions for a wide range of applications, from sensors and heaters to smart displays and antennas, companies worldwide are utilizing additively manufactured parts. Biometric sensors, for example, made from functional materials can be embedded into athletic apparel or healthcare applications and connected to Bluetooth or WiFi to create smart clothing. Conductive inks can be used to create thin, stretchable heaters, touch screens or printed displays, and these examples just scratch the surface of the vast range of capabilities they possess. 

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Functional Material Types

Functional materials include conductive inks, adhesives, encapsulants, insulators, and coatings. Each type serves its own purpose. Printed electronics can be created by layering conductive inks through additive manufacturing processes like screen printing or direct-write technology. Conductive adhesives are used for applications such as die attach and chip bonding.

Conductive Inks 

Conductive inks can be made from silver or carbon among other materials and are used to carry current or “conduct” electrical signals on printed electronics. ACI offers flexible or stretchable conductors, which have superior conductivity and stretchability. There are three main types of conductive inks: Percolation, Sinterable, and Alchemy (or Semi-Sinterable). 

Adhesives

Adhesives are designed for bonding materials to overcome CTE mismatch, or bonding components to stretchable substrates. The adhesives will remain stretchable following a thermal cure. Adhesives can be deposited using stencil, syringe, or jet dispensing.

Encapsulants

Encapsulants are used to electrically insulate and protect components mounted to flexible and stretchable films. They can also be used on rigid substrates to protect components from the material expanding or contracting due to temperature changes. They can be used in combination with adhesives and inks or on their own. 

Insulators

Insulators are used to insulate the conductors from the surrounding environment. ACI Materials’ stretchable insulators enable washability of wearable circuits and have passed pseudo-toxicity testing.

Coatings

ACI’s aerospace coatings protect space capsules and satellites from abrasion, radiation, and the extreme conditions of space. They can be used in terrestrial and space environments.