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September 2014 • The PCB Magazine 49 display products using aerosol jet printing. The MJC NEOSYS LOR System (Figure 8) improves production yields by repairing open circuits in the display backplane. Since these repairs must be invisible to the human eye, aerosol jet prints conductive lines that average six microns wide to fill the gaps. The system is in production at multiple customer sites and provides 25% high - er throughput than alternative repair methods, such as laser chemical vapor deposition (L-CVD). Other aerosol jet applications in display and touchscreen include: • Edge Circuits: AJ prints narrower line width to allow increase in active area • ITO Jumpers: AJ printing is a lower cost alternative • Conductive Grids: Conductivity booster for ITO layer in OLED displays • Hermetic Seals: AJ printing is lower cost with higher yield • Tactile Feedback: AJ fully printed haptic devices Embedded Components In an effort to develop a solution for creating intelligent structures that integrate electronics into structural components, Optomec has part- nered with Aurora Flight Sciences and Stratasys to fully print a smart wing for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). An Optomec aerosol jet system was used to print a conformal sensor, antenna and LED circuitry directly onto the wing of a UAV that also was fully printed using a Stratasys 3D printer (Figures 9a and 9b). The hybrid printing approach offers the potential to dramatically reduce the weight of the UAV, en- abling more payload. Manufacturing will also benefit by simplifying electronic integration, especially for miniaturized products. Field re- pair can likewise be improved by printing re- placement parts on location as needed saving inventory and logistics costs. In related work, Neotech Services utilized aerosol jet to print a fill level sensor and con- trol circuitry directly on the side walls of a dual chamber plastic tank (Figure 10). As the fluid level in one of the chambers increases, the printed capacitive sensor signals the pump to figure 8: neosYs repair system with aerosol Jet printing. (photo courtesy of mJC) figure 9b: printed rf antenna transmitting live video. figure 9a: printed signal circuit powering flashing leds. AEROSOL JET TECHNOLOGy FOR PRODuCTION GRADE/SCALE PRINTED ELECTRONICS continues