Production in micrometer range
Process
In order to print our pastes we need a screen with a stainless steel fabric. This fabric is being coated and then partly masked, exposed and washed. Through the washing process the unexposed coating is removed. The result is a screen which is porous for the thick-film pastes in the previously masked area, while the rest is not porous. The uncoated area corresponds to the desired layout.
The first step of paste application is adding an isolation or conductor paste to the screen. Subsequently, a flood blade spreads the paste all over the screen and then a squeegee pushs it through the porous area of the screen. Consequently, the unexposed pattern of the screen is transferred to a substrate, which is placed under the screen.
Benefits
Each layer has a thickness of roundabout 20 µm. Thereby, the heating elements don‘t need much space. Furthermore, another big advantage is the flexibility in the layout design. As a consequence, the conducting tracks can be adjusted in a way so that an even heat distribution is possible. Thus, the heating elements are individually customized for each application.
