Understanding Pulsed-Light Photonic Curing

Pulsed-Light Photonic Curing Overview Part 1

What is pulsed-light photonic curing?

Photonic Curing is an industrial thermal process in which a thin film is heated with pulsed light from a flash lamp. When the film is heated on a substrate, the bulk of the substrate stays relatively cool since the exposure time is so brief (~1ms). When this transient processing is performed on substrates that have relatively low thermal damage threshold, such as plastic or paper, it is possible to attain significantly higher temperatures in the thin film without damaging the substrate than possible with an ordinary oven. Since photonic curing tools quickly cure thin films at high temperature on low temperature substrates, it is ideal for reel-to-reel processes on polymer or paper.
Photonic curing was first developed by NovaCentrix and is incorporated into the PulseForge® set of tools. It has become a transformative process used in the manufacture of printed electronics as it allows inexpensive and flexible substrates to be substituted for traditional glass or ceramic substrates. Additionally, the higher temperature processing afforded by photonic curing reduces the processing time exponentially, often from minutes down to milliseconds, which increases throughput all while maintaining a very tiny machine footprint.

Why Does This Matter?

Photonic curing was first developed by NovaCentrix and is incorporated into the PulseForge® set of tools. It has become a transformative process used in the manufacture of printed electronics as it allows inexpensive and flexible substrates to be substituted for traditional glass or ceramic substrates. Additionally, the higher temperature processing afforded by photonic curing reduces the processing time exponentially, often from minutes down to milliseconds, which increases throughput all while maintaining a very tiny machine footprint.
  1. As compared to traditional thermal processing equipment, e.g. ovens, photonic curing tools have a tiny footprint.
  2. Equipment can be retrofitted onto existing lines or simply take up less space in a clean room for the same processing rate.
  3. Since higher processing temperatures can be achieved, improved conductive performance can be achieved with functional materials.
  4. Inexpensive or thinner substrates can be substituted for more traditional ones.
Pulsed-Light Photonic Curing Overview Part 2

What are the Applications of Pulsed-Light Photonic Curing?

The maturing complexity of modern printed electronics for customer applications demands high throughput manufacturing and improved device function. The functionality of the printed electronics is critically important as customers demand more out of each device. In that order, multiple layers are designed into each device, requiring ever more versatile processing techniques.

Modern Design

Photonic curing is uniquely suited to complement the processing needs in the manufacture of modern printed electronics. The photonic curing process can provide a fast, reliable and transformative processing step to meet the most demanding production designs.

Reduced Heat

Photonic curing enables lower thermal processing budget with current materials, and it can provide a path to incorporate more advanced materials and functionality into future printed electronics.

Process Flexability

In addition to sintering metals and ceramics, photonic curing is also used to dry thin films, modulate chemical reactions, and even anneal ceramics and semiconductors such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) and amorphous silicon.

Isn't Pulsed-Light Photonic Curing Similar to Laser Processing?

It is, but it processes a larger surface area in a small fraction of time when compared to an oven or laser. With a few exceptions is reasonable to say that for processing thin films photonic curing has the performance of laser processing yet the economics of an oven.

Watch the PulseForge Overiew Video

In milliseconds, PulseForge® equipment from NovaCentrix dries, sinters, or anneals functional materials used for printed electronics products. Use of these tools can save product material costs, reduce processing time and increase throughput, and allows increased product innovation. PulseForge tools are available for application development and for high-speed roll-to-roll manufacturing.