Screen Printed Glassy Carbon: Applications in Printed Electronics and Sensors

Glassy carbon is a non-graphitizing carbon with unique properties including low electrical resistance, and high chemical and temperature resistance. This work demonstrates the use of glassy carbon for applications in printed electronics and sensors. Screen printing was adopted to pattern phenol formaldehyde as a precursor, which was subsequently thermally converted to glassy carbon, on an alumina substrate. The resulting glassy carbon printed patterns were characterized, demonstrating an electrical resistivity of around 2x10
⁻⁴
Ohmmeter. A circuit using printed glassy carbon as a conductor and incorporating a LED was fabricated to functionally demonstrate the material. Finally, the printed glassy carbon was tested as a temperature sensor up to 140 °C, presenting a reliable temperature coefficient of resistance of around −0.0021 Ohm/Ohm/°C. These results demonstrate the viability of presented fabrication process by printing for novel integration of printed glassy carbon into printed electronics, as demonstrated for printed circuits and temperature sensing, with advantages in principle of suitability for harsh and chemical demanding environments.