A continuous near-field electrospray process has been developed to deposit micropatterns. Different from traditional electrospray technologies, the nozzle-to-substrate distance was shortened to less than 5 mm, and a glass capillary nozzle with a diameter of tens of microns was used. Steady and continuous ejection was achieved, and patterns with line widths of sub-100 μm were generated. The influence of experimental parameters was investigated. The critical voltage for electrospray increased with nozzle-to-substrate distance and flow rate. The line width of electrosprayed patterns increased with the increases in applied voltage, flow rate, nozzle diameter, and deposition time. This work provides a simple and potential route for on-demand deposition of micro-/nano-patterns in the electrospray process.
Keywords: drop-on-demand; electrospray; jetting; near-field; printing.