Firing characteristics of size-controlled silver–glass composite powders prepared by spray pyrolysis

Size-controlled spherical silver–glass composite powders were directly prepared by using spray pyrolysis. The mean sizes of the composite powders changed from 0.34 to 0.78 μm when the concentration of the spray solution was changed from 0.05 to 2 M. The firing characteristics of composite powders formed from the spray solutions with a glass content equal to 3 wt.% of the silver component were affected by the mean sizes of the powders. Silver-conducting films formed from large-sized composite powders had a denser structure than those formed from small-sized composite powders. Further, silver-conducting films formed from composite powders with a mean size of 0.78 μm had specific resistances of 3 and 2 μΩ cm at firing temperatures of 450 and 500 °C. However, silver-conducting films formed from composite powders with a mean size of 0.34 μm had specific resistances of 8.2 and 6.9 μΩ cm at firing temperatures of 450 and 500 °C.