Electrode and method for forming the same

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to an electrode and a method for forming the same and, more particularly, to an electrode with a plurality of metal particles and a method for forming the electrode.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Electrodes are conventionally manufactured by electroplating or evaporation on rigid substrates using expensive equipments at high temperatures. However, it is not easy for such electrodes to be connected to other materials such as metal wires for module integration.

A conventional method for forming an electrode is Taiwan Patent Pub. No. 414,951 filed by TSMC, disclosing a method for forming electrodes used in capacitors having dielectric with a high dielectric constant. The method is as described in FIG. 1 to FIG. 6, comprising steps of: providing a substrate 11 (as shown in FIG. 1); forming an electrode defining layer 12 on the substrate 11 (as shown in FIG. 2); forming an opening 14 in the electrode defining layer 12 using photo-lithography with a photo-resist layer 16 (as shown in FIG. 3); filling the opening 14 with a conductive material 18 covering the electrode defining layer 12 (as shown in FIG. 4); removing the conductive material 18 outside the opening 14 (as shown in FIG. 5); and removing the electrode defining layer 12 (as shown in FIG. 6).

Accordingly, the conductive material is formed by conventional chemical vapor-phase deposition (CVD), physical vapor-phase deposition (PVD) or sputtering so that it has difficulty being connected to other materials such as metal wires for module integration. Meanwhile, the conductive material thus formed cannot be deposited on a flexible substrate due to a mismatched interface between the conductive material (mostly, metal) and polymer. Moreover, the aforementioned process is relatively complicated and costly.

Therefore, to overcome the aforementioned shortcomings, there is need in providing an electrode and a method for forming the electrode so as to reduce the cost, simplify the process, and make it feasible to form on a flexible substrate at a low temperature the electrode able to be connected to other materials such as metal wires.

It is a primary object of the present invention to provide an electrode and a method for forming the electrode so as to reduce the cost, simplify the process, and make it feasible to form on a flexible substrate at a low temperature the electrode able to be connected to other materials such as metal wires.

In order to achieve the foregoing object, the present invention provides a method for forming an electrode, the method comprising steps of: providing a substrate; providing a solution including a solvent and a plurality of metal particles on the substrate; removing the solvent; and making the plurality of metal particles adhere to the substrate.

Preferably, the plurality of metal particles are bonded with the substrate by chemical bonding.

Preferably, the substrate is formed of a recrystallizable material.

Preferably, the recrystallizable material is a conductive polymer material.

Preferably, the substrate is a flexible substrate.

Preferably, the solvent comprises methyl benzene, phenol or aldehyde.

Preferably, the plurality of metal particles comprise nickel (Ni), tin (Sn), silver (Ag) or gold (Au).

Preferably, the solution is provided on the substrate by spin coating, ink-jet printing, screen printing or imprinting.

Preferably, the method further comprises a step of: electrically coupling the substrate to a circuit device.

Preferably, the method further comprises a step of: providing a thermal sensitive polymer material on the substrate.

The present invention further provides an electrode, comprising: a substrate; and a plurality of metal particles adhering to the substrate.

Preferably, the plurality of metal particles are bonded with the substrate by chemical bonding.

Preferably, the substrate is formed of a recrystallizable material.