Application of auto-catalytic metallization as a sustainable technique for planar inductor fabrication

Onboard passive components are very popular in electrical and electronics manufacturing technologies. Methods of printed circuit board manufacturing, used for making passive onboard devices such as inductors, have been unchanged for decades. Current PCB technology uses subtractive processes which involve acids and solvents which produce significant toxic waste in creating the metallic layers. In this paper auto-catalytic metallization is studied as the best candidate to replace the old process. Inductors designs were fabricated and measured. Similar inductors were made by high-resolution inkjet printers using silver nanoparticles. Comparison of these two methods showed lower resistivity of conductors and significant improvement in the quality of inductors fabricated using autocatalytic method. This new method is additive and eliminates the use of hazardous chemicals such as acids and solvents during the fabrication process. It also reduces the number of fabricating steps and improves the fabrication speed.