The influence of nanoparticle (NP) size on the physical characteristics of sintered silver NP ink was studied using four different types of inks. The Ag NP inks were spin-coated on glass substrates with an average thickness of 300 nm. Each sample was sintered for 30 min, with temperatures from 50 °C to 400 °C by an interval of 50 °C. After sintering, the specific resistance of each case was obtained using the resistance and surface profile measurements. The minimum specific resistance obtained by the experiment was 2.6 μΩ·cm in the case in which 50 nm-sized Ag NP ink was sintered at 350 °C. The transformed surface morphology and grain size of each case were observed using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. The results of this study can be a reference for future manufacturers in selecting the Ag NP size and the sintering temperature.
Keywords: furnace sintering; silver nanoparticle ink; specific resistance; surface morphology.