Abstract
This work proposes a near-infrared (NIR) sintering method to improve the surface roughness and enhance the sheet resistance of a gravure-offset-printed metal mesh with viscous silver paste that contains large nanoparticles. Results indicate that the sintering was thorough because the porosity in the metal mesh approached zero percent. Examination proved a 60.5% surface roughness improvement and a 18.5% increment of Ag content in the metal mesh after NIR sintering, indicating respectively 2.69% and 1.37% improvement compared with conventional oven operations. In addition, material analyses through both energy-dispersive and Raman spectroscopy explained the reduction of insulative elements and features with chemical bonds in the metal mesh, supporting the finding of overall respective improvements in surface roughness (90.9%) and sheet resistance (98.6%). The effective NIR sintering evaluated in the present work was proven to be not only capable of replacing discontinuous oven operations in roll-to-roll manufacturing but also efficient in enhancing the material characteristics under identical sintering conditions compared with conventional oven operations.