Functional surface coating of screens and stencils for thick film application

The development of the density of integrated contacts for the Microelectronics has risen over the last years, based upon the higher integrity level of sensors and signals. Thus, the width and the spaces between the contacting lines decreased significantly from 500μm down <;100μm and should be less than 30 μm within the next years. Those lines can be realized by screen or stencil printing techniques. The printing result of fine line structures are influenced by different factors like substrate material, paste system, printing parameters and screen parameters. All this factors have to be optimized to achieve line width and space smaller than 30 μm. For a consistent paste transfer the surface energy of the screen is a major parameter. To improve this energy KOENEN has developed a new technology to minimize the resulting forces at the surface of the opening areas. Therefore the paste release is enhanced which leads to an improved printability.