Investigation of Roll-to-Roll Gravure Printing for Printed Electronics with Fine Features

Gravure printing is known to be cost competitive in manufacturing of printed electronic devices due to its capability to mass produce at lower costs. Current standard of gravure printed feature sizes is in a range of around 50 μm down to sub-10 μm, predominantly through small scale setups and specialized engraving. However, reliance on gravure cell design limits the scalability of printing over a large area due to the setup cost. In this study, ink viscoelastic behavior was modified to improve replication of gravure printed features over a large printing area of 300 mm web-width without a reduction in gravure cell dimension. Fine lines were printed using a high viscosity ink with a good replication of the nominal line width. Control over the printed features was performed through the variation of printing speed and the alteration of ink viscosity. The effects of ink viscosity and printing speed on the printed ink particle distribution and size were also examined. New methodologies of characterizing ink transfer were also developed to help understand the ink transfer processes: mass transfer and particle transfer. A deeper understanding of the thixotropic effect and shear recovery behavior of inks was achieved through simulations of shearing conditions

HighP–TNano-Mechanics of Polycrystalline Nickel

We have conducted highP–Tsynchrotron X-ray and time-of-flight neutron diffraction experiments as well as indentation measurements to study equation of state, constitutive properties, and hardness of nanocrystalline and bulk nickel. Our lattice volume–pressure data present a clear evidence of elastic softening in nanocrystalline Ni as compared with the bulk nickel. We show that the enhanced overall compressibility of nanocrystalline Ni is a consequence of the higher compressibility of the surface shell of Ni nanocrystals, which supports the results of molecular dynamics simulation and a generalized model of a nanocrystal with expanded surface layer. The analytical methods we developed based on the peak-profile of diffraction data allow us to identify “micro/local” yield due to high stress concentration at the grain-to-grain contacts and “macro/bulk” yield due to deviatoric stress over the entire sample. The graphic approach of our strain/stress analyses can also reveal the corresponding yield strength, grain crushing/growth, work hardening/softening, and thermal relaxation under highP–Tconditions, as well as the intrinsic residual/surface strains in the polycrystalline bulks. From micro-indentation measurements, we found that a low-temperature annealing (T < 0.4 Tm) hardens nanocrystalline Ni, leading to an inverse Hall–Petch relationship. We explain this abnormal Hall–Petch effect in terms of impurity segregation to the grain boundaries of the nanocrystalline Ni

Applications of Image Processing in X-Ray Films of Mammary Gland

National audienc

In situ TEM nanoindentation and dislocation-grain boundary interactions: a tribute to David Brandon

As a tribute to the scientific work of Professor David Brandon, this paper delineates the possibilities of utilizing in situ transmission electron microscopy to unravel dislocation-grain boundary interactions. In particular, we have focused on the deformation characteristics of Al-Mg films. To this end, in situ nanoindentation experiments have been conducted in TEM on ultrafine-grained Al and Al-Mg films with varying Mg contents. The observed propagation of dislocations is markedly different between Al and Al-Mg films, i.e. the presence of solute Mg results in solute drag, evidenced by a jerky-type dislocation motion with a mean jump distance that compares well to earlier theoretical and experimental results. It is proposed that this solute drag accounts for the difference between the load-controlled indentation responses of Al and Al-Mg alloys. In contrast to Al-Mg alloys, several yield excursions are observed during initial indentation of pure Al, which are commonly attributed to the collective motion of dislocations nucleated under the indenter. Displacement-controlled indentation does not result in a qualitative difference between Al and Al-Mg, which can be explained by the specific feedback characteristics providing a more sensitive detection of plastic instabilities and allowing the natural process of load relaxation to occur. The in situ indentation measurements confirm grain boundary motion as an important deformation mechanism in ultrafine-grained Al when it is subjected to a highly inhomogeneous stress field as produced by a Berkovich indenter. It is found that solute Mg effectively pins high-angle grain boundaries during such deformation. The mobility of low-angle boundaries is not affected by the presence of Mg

Introducing a strain-hardening capability to improve the ductility of bulk metallic glasses via severe plastic deformation

The great technological potential for bulk metallic glasses (BMGs) arises primarily because of their superior mechanical properties. To realize this potential, it is essential to overcome the severe ductility limitations of BMGs which are generally attributed to shear localization and strain softening. Despite much international effort, progress in improving the ductility of BMGs has been limited to certain alloys with specific compositions. Here, we report that severe plastic deformation of a quasi-constrained volume, which prevents brittle materials from fracture during the plastic deformation, can be used to induce strain hardening and to reduce shear localization in BMGs, thereby giving a significant enhancement in their ductility. Structural characterizations reveal the increased free volume and nanoscale heterogeneity induced by severe plastic deformation are responsible for the improved ductility. This finding opens a new and important pathway towards enhanced ductility of BMG