STTR Phase I: Silver Replacement for Conductive Inks

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will develop new materials to replace silver in conductive ink applications. Current silver replacement materials all have significant drawbacks making them unsuitable for use in many industries which would benefit from these cost savings. The project will utilize advanced thin film nanocoatings to produce silver replacement materials at a low cost while maintaining high performance. These advancements will ultimately allow for the production of lower cost "printable" electronics, as well as decreasing the cost of sophisticated technologies such as photovoltaics. The broader impact/commercial potential of this project directly impacts any sector making use of conductive inks or adhesives in manufacturing of goods. In solar panels, the most important current commercial application, silver inks are used to print conductive traces onto panels. In other areas, conductive inks are gaining new applications daily in everything from computer displays to RFID tags. The value of the silver being used in these applications is roughly $1B/year, and rising consistently. However, current market fluctuations in the cost of silver metal have caused increasing difficulty for manufacturers, with prices of $125/kg in 2003 skyrocketing to $1000/kg in 2012. We anticipate being able to produce silver substitute materials which will increase supply stability and reduce cost in this critical industry.