Dave Savastano05.01.14
Holst Centre and NovaCentrix have announced a partnership to advance the study and application of photonic curing technologies. The collaboration unites NovaCentrix’s industry-leading photonic curing equipment and applications engineering with Holst Centre’s in-depth knowledge of sintering and real-time process instrumentation. Together, the partners aim to speed the development of new generations of photonic curing equipment, materials and processes.
Sintering turns patterns of metallic inks into conductive structures and is a key technique in the production of printed electronics. Photonic curing – sometimes also referred to as photo sintering, flash sintering or intense pulsed light processing (IPL) – dries, sinters and anneals materials using intense bursts of light. It is much faster and works at lower bulk temperatures than conventional thermal methods. This makes it ideal for use with plastic substrates in high-volume roll-to-roll processes for affordable printed electronics applications.
Under the new collaboration, Holst Centre will add a NovaCentrix PulseForge 1300 tool to its world-leading research facility for photonic sintering where it will be used by researchers from Holst Centre and its ecosystem of industrial partners. Insight into the sintering process gained from these experiments and in-situ measurement techniques developed at Holst Centre will enable NovaCentrix to improve equipment simulations and process control. The ultimate goal is to support application development and manufacturing of printed and flexible electronics devices.
“Holst Centre is making great strides in furthering printed and flexible electronics technologies, defining ‘state-of-the-art’ in many application areas. We will specifically be working with their world-class team on advancements in photonic curing technologies and processes, and with other partners in applying photonic curing to enable new products. By combining work already in progress at Holst Centre with our PulseForge photonic curing tools and Metalon ink technologies, accelerated innovation is inevitable,” said Stan Farnsworth, vice president of marketing at NovaCentrix.
“Roll-to-roll production of printed electronics could cut the cost of applications ranging from RFID tags and smart packaging to solar panels and low-energy indoor lighting. At Holst Centre, we believe photonic sintering is a vital building block in these processes and have for some years been working to develop high-performance, photonic sintering technologies that could be applied in an industrial setting. NovaCentrix is the recognized global leader in this field. And our partnership with them will make Holst Centre the center of photonic sintering in the world,” said Pim Groen, program manager at Holst Centre.
Sintering turns patterns of metallic inks into conductive structures and is a key technique in the production of printed electronics. Photonic curing – sometimes also referred to as photo sintering, flash sintering or intense pulsed light processing (IPL) – dries, sinters and anneals materials using intense bursts of light. It is much faster and works at lower bulk temperatures than conventional thermal methods. This makes it ideal for use with plastic substrates in high-volume roll-to-roll processes for affordable printed electronics applications.
Under the new collaboration, Holst Centre will add a NovaCentrix PulseForge 1300 tool to its world-leading research facility for photonic sintering where it will be used by researchers from Holst Centre and its ecosystem of industrial partners. Insight into the sintering process gained from these experiments and in-situ measurement techniques developed at Holst Centre will enable NovaCentrix to improve equipment simulations and process control. The ultimate goal is to support application development and manufacturing of printed and flexible electronics devices.
“Holst Centre is making great strides in furthering printed and flexible electronics technologies, defining ‘state-of-the-art’ in many application areas. We will specifically be working with their world-class team on advancements in photonic curing technologies and processes, and with other partners in applying photonic curing to enable new products. By combining work already in progress at Holst Centre with our PulseForge photonic curing tools and Metalon ink technologies, accelerated innovation is inevitable,” said Stan Farnsworth, vice president of marketing at NovaCentrix.
“Roll-to-roll production of printed electronics could cut the cost of applications ranging from RFID tags and smart packaging to solar panels and low-energy indoor lighting. At Holst Centre, we believe photonic sintering is a vital building block in these processes and have for some years been working to develop high-performance, photonic sintering technologies that could be applied in an industrial setting. NovaCentrix is the recognized global leader in this field. And our partnership with them will make Holst Centre the center of photonic sintering in the world,” said Pim Groen, program manager at Holst Centre.