PII's Intellectual Property & Technology development is focused in the following areas

• Printed Electronics
• Solar Cell Development 
• Ultra-Capacitor
• Very High Thermally Conductive Adhesives
• Custom Electronic Applications
  
  
  
  
  
  
  POLYMERIC INTERCONNECT PRODUCTS
  
  
  

PolyConXt ® 610 – Conductive Paste and Adhesive

An innovative combination of polymer and metal interconnections producing an ‘active’ screen- printable and dispensable ink paste with outstanding electrical and thermal conductivity. PolyConXt ® forms true, robust metallurgical joints within its internal matrix and at the interface with PWB metallizations and component terminations. The polymeric component is specifically engineered to enable the cured film to be directly solderable, provide excellent adhesion to FR4, engineering plastics, PTF dielectrics, and solder resists. Specific properties include:

• Transient liquid phase ink/adhesive with high thermal and electrical performance
•   Screen printable or dispense, cures @150 C
•   An amalgam of copper and lead free solder
•   Thermal conductivity = 30 w/m-Kelvin
• Excellent electrical, adhesive, and environmental properties
• Use as conductive ink, PCB hole fill, TIM, die attach and heat sink adhesive
• Enhanced thermally conductive version being developed

 PolyConXt ® 610 Applications:

• Replacement for hand-soldered jumper wires.
• Screen-printable, solderable conductor for additive circuitry ‘Active’ via fill for co-lamination and sequential build-up technologies.
• Via plugs for ‘pad on via’ and through-hole filling  Thermal pillars for BGA, Flip Chip, COB, PWB assembly and discrete packages.
• Die attach and SMT conductive adhesive forming true metallurgical joints. Effective EMI shielding of PWBs.
• Heating elements, power resistors and potentiometer terminations.

 Highly Conductive Silver Ink

• Conductivity of sintered thick film (3-5 mohms/sq)
•  No Silver migration
•  Applications in PCB, RFID, Solar Panels, Displays, etc.
• Excellent adhesion and environmental properties
• Screen and High Speed printing versions available
• Thermal cure, but also thermoplastic product available
• A ultraviolet curable formulation with excellent conductivity and properties is also developed

 Nanometallic Inks

• Metal nanoparticles sinter at relatively low    temperatures making these inks compatible with polymer substrate
• Ink jet (digital) and high speed printing
• Well suited for circuitry and RFID applications
• Our silver ink has been formulated, but must be adapted for ink jet and characterized
• Copper nanoparticle ink development has begun (see Nano Copper Ink technology below) - Key consideration is preventing oxidation in cure/sinter process
• Plan to work with ITI in Boulder Colorado

Nanocarbon Inks

• New inexpensive raw material exfoliated from graphite is composed of graphene, nanotubes and other varied carbon nanoparticles.
• A stable deagglomerated ink has been formulated and tested. Printing properties and electrical conductivity are still in need of refinement.
• We have formulated a hybrid material (with silver) which has very low electrical resistance.  Further development is needed to optimize processing properties.
• Application is for replacement of silver based inks, particularly in RFID applications.

 

Nano Copper Ink technology for Printed Electronics

PII is in the process of refining technology to produce highly conductive nanoparticulate copper ink which can be processed at low temperature to create traces and interconnects on printed circuit boards. A recently developed technology trend in the printed electronics industry uses nano particle ink with digital ink jet printers. This technology is predicted to have explosive growth, as inks are being developed for not only the conductive traces on the circuit board, but for all the components that are conventionally placed onto the board, including capacitors, resistors and even transistors. PII’s focus on creating a low cost, environmentally clean, digital printing technology for circuit boards, RFID tags, thin film solar panels and other printed electronic products. PII’s proprietary copper nano particle sintering technology will be used in inks for RFID, Printed Circuits, and Printed Electronics Applications. This work will be accomplished in Butte at the facilities of Polymeric Interconnect and Montana Tech. Subsequent product development and commercialization will be accomplished with private funding. A facility will be established to manufacture inks for the global market, with the potential to create hundreds of jobs in the local community.

Structural Capacitor

This project will develop an innovative structural sandwich panel, integrated with ultra-capacitor technology, and capable of carrying significant structural loads while providing or storing energy for vehicles and energy generating installations. This structure utilizes a very high surface area core that has been constructed into a multilayered capacitor and is capped with high strength carbon/epoxy or metal skins. This structure is capable of producing an energetic platform for an electric vehicle, or a turbine blade for a wind generator. This research will develop processes and technology based upon nano-structured electrophoretic deposition to create multi layered capacitors on Nickel foam core comprising Barium Titanate and Nickel. These capacitors will become the core of our structural panels. Our team approach with corporate suppliers and universities will enable rapid product commercialization, and technology adopted into University curriculum. This work culminates with the demonstration of a structural capacitor in an electric vehicle.

The research team consists of Derril Steele and Hugh Craig. Derril has an extensive background in research and development related to polymer systems for use in advanced composites, adhesives and inks. He has several patents, including two for conductive ink compositions that directly relate to oxidation control for enhanced property development. Hugh’s background is similar to Derril’s with a career in Polymer Chemistry and polymer engineering, adhesives and inks. He also has been awarded several patents; the most pertinent are two patents related to oxidation control for liquid phase sintering of copper based conductive inks, and two patents for other conductive compositions. This team is backed by the Metallurgy Department at Montana Tech.

PII Hybrid Dye Sensitized Solar Cell

Polymeric Interconnect has for the past several years focused on product development for the emerging clean and renewable energy business sector. Our efforts have resulted in an innovative solar cell that combines Solar Thermal and Photovoltaic energy in the same solar module. Our technology addresses the clean and renewable energy equation completely. Based on solar, it can rapidly progress to tera watt generation at lowest potential cost. By the co-generation of heat and electricity, the typical dwelling can be powered with one third the panel area required with other PV methods, providing a much lower cost of ownership. The opportunity is significant for both the developed world, as well as the emergent world, with up to two billion customers requiring off grid power generation.

 

The innovative product offers a cost /watt of energy generation that is less than grid based fossil fuel; is made entirely of low cost, abundant, non toxic and environmentally safe materials; is light weight for ease of use in BIPV and BAPV installations; can be fast tracked to market; and has patent applied for status. The technology is based on the Dye Sensitized Solar Cell which mimics photosynthesis. Although DSSC provides the lowest cost solar solution, is efficient in low light conditions and does not need solar orientation, it has been slow to reach commercial potential for three reasons: low efficiency, low scalability and low reliability. Our technology addresses each of these deficiencies. We increase efficiency with major changes in cell architecture. The photo anode is internal very large surface area reticulated metal foam which can increase the “active” area by up to fifty times. The semiconductor onto which the dye is absorbed is created by processing that creates a hierarchical architecture that causes photons to dwell in the cell longer for enhanced light trapping. We also have developed a plasmonic reflective counter electrode that allows a second bite at any photons missed in the first pass.

 

Due to the low electrical conductivity of the electrodes in a typical DSSC (Transparent Conductive Oxide) the cell width is limited to one or two centimeters. Our highly conductive metal electrodes will allow the cell width to increase by up to three orders of magnitude, which not only resolves the scalability issue, but significantly reduces the module cost. The lack of reliability is due to need to use liquid electrolytes to make efficient cells. The vaporization and freezing of these electrolytes have caused cell failure and

limited their acceptance. Liquids are required in the DSSC because their very low viscosity is needed to penetrate into the nano sized pores in the current technologies mesoporous semiconductor film.

 

Our construction provides for larger pores, which will allow us to utilize high  viscosity hole conductive polymers for connection to the counter electrode. Large surface area reticulated metal foams, as used for our anode, are possibly the most efficient heat exchanger design. Our cells will be constructed inside air ducting-heating the air while cooling the cell-providing dwelling heating and cooling and hot water, estimated at up to two thirds of dwelling energy requirement.

 

Other Products

Additional printing inks that will be extensively used for printed electronics which we have initiated early R&D are:

• Organic semiconductor and organic LED materials
•  Die attach adhesive, solder replacement adhesive, and underfill encapsulant can be further developed pending market evaluation

• Solar semiconductor  materials, CIGS, TiO2 and Silicon

• Capacitive and resistive inks for printed circuitry