Three-dimensional visualizing method at nanoscale resolution for printing behavior

Printed electronics, which patterns electrical components for large area electronic devices by using printing technology, is paid more attention in electric industry to fabricate, such as flat panel displays, solar cells, flexible electronics, etc. In this field, the larger area and finer resolution is strongly required from the application-side. For this purpose, we proposed a soft nano-printing technology using elastomer-made printing-plate, which has a potential to realize nanoscale printing. However, the deformation of such a soft printing plate will induce another problem, which is the deformation of the printing plate during the printing. In this study, we developed an observation tools to visualize the deformation of printing plate and ink inside during printing process, in order to study both the influence of deformation of printing plate and the mechanism of printing. As a result, we successfully realized and demonstrated the 3D visualization of the printing plate and ink at the same time at nanometer resolution.