Fabrication of hybrid fine metal mask through micro/nano-photolithography and electroforming

Screen printing has various industrial applications owing to its simple process and low production cost. With advancement in electronic devices, the demand for fine electrode patterns is gradually increasing. In this study, a novel method for fabricating a hybrid fine metal mask (HFMM) was developed to enable the screen printing of fine electrode patterns. The HFMM was designed to combine the advantages of the conventional screen mask and metal stencils; it was fabricated through photolithography and the electroforming process. The HFMM comprised three parts: a stencil, a bridge, and an anti-sticking feature. A conductive ink, which was passed through the stencil feature, was deposited on the substrate and the bridge feature helped increase the mechanical rigidity of the HFMM. The anti-sticking feature was fabricated for the easy separation of the HFMM from the substrate during the printing process. In this study, the printing feasibility of HFMM to the screen printing process was tested to fabricate fine electrodes with a line width of approximately 10 μm, and the printing and electrical properties of the electrodes were evaluated. The screen printing process with HFMM could be applied to fabricate various functional electrodes, such as stretchable and transparent electrodes.