Surface topography is important as it relates to material properties and specifically the multiple layers of screen printing conductive materials. Achieving cooperation and adhesion between materials is a science to take into account when diving into your first foray of electrochemical biosensors. Pictured on the left is 100x ablated thin film gold (500Å) and the right is a screen printed thick film silver. Note the surface texture and kerf difference.
For applications requiring a precious metal electrode we typically suggest a thin film ablation method due to lower cost and precision. Precious metal ink(s) carry a higher premium therefore screen printing is typically not suggested. On the other hand let’s say there is a need for a carbon electrode. Carbons are not as readily available to sputter as a high quality biosensor electrode therefore the suggested option is to screen print these electrodes.
Since CTI has the capability to do either ablation and screen printing, the type of ink used highly depends on the need of the application and functionality. The challenge is with so many different combinations of screen printing layers, it comes down to experimenting to determine what works best for the application
Surface topography is important as it relates to material properties and specifically the multiple layers of screen printing conductive materials. Achieving cooperation and adhesion between materials is a science to take into account when diving into your first foray of electrochemical biosensors. Pictured on the left is 100x ablated thin film gold (500Å) and the right is a screen printed thick film silver. Note the surface texture and kerf difference.
For applications requiring a precious metal electrode we typically suggest a thin film ablation method due to lower cost and precision. Precious metal ink(s) carry a higher premium therefore screen printing is typically not suggested. On the other hand let’s say there is a need for a carbon electrode. Carbons are not as readily available to sputter as a high quality biosensor electrode therefore the suggested option is to screen print these electrodes.
Since CTI has the capability to do either ablation and screen printing, the type of ink used highly depends on the need of the application and functionality. The challenge is with so many different combinations of screen printing layers, it comes down to experimenting to determine what works best for the application.