Method for reducing thin films on low temperature substrates

#1. Technical Field

#The present invention relates to curing method in general, and, in particular, to a method for reducing thin films on low-temperature substrates.

#2. Description of Related Art

#The invention itself, as well as a preferred mode of use, further objects, and advantages thereof, will best be understood by reference to the following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

#FIG. 1 is a flow diagram of a method for curing a thin film on a low-temperature substrate, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention; and

#FIG. 2 is a diagram of a curing apparatus, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

#For the present invention, curing is defined as thermal processing, which includes reducing a metal compound contained within a thin film on a low-temperature substrate. A thin film is defined as a coating of less than 100 microns thick. Examples of low-temperature substrates include paper, plastic or polymer.

#The present invention is a method for providing activation energy to perform a reduction-oxidation reaction in a thin film using intense pulsed light. The redox reaction may be the reduction of a metal oxide by an organic compound and may be performed on a low-temperature substrate.

#Referring now to the drawings and in particular to FIG. 1, there is depicted a flow diagram of a method for curing a thin film on a low-temperature substrate, in accordance with a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Starting in block 100, a non-conducting metal oxide is dispersed in a liquid, such as water, using any number of common dispersing agents such as polyvinylpyrrolidone or polystyrene-acrylate copolymers, as shown in block 110. The dispersion also includes at least one reducing agent. The reducing agent may be any of a number of compounds including alcohols, aldehydes, carboxylic acids and carbon black. Reducing agents preferably include glycerol, ascorbic acid, 1,2-hexanediol and glutaric acid. Other additives may include various surfactants for surface wetting, humectants, co-solvents, and binder resins. The dispersion may include conducting particles such as silver, copper, or gold. The dispersion may also contain partially oxidized metal particles. The non-conducting metal oxide can be any metal oxide listed in Table I.