Performance comparison of silver ink and copper conductors for microwave applications

In this study copper and silver ink microstrip lines (MSLs) are simulated, measured and compared. Implementation and performance of a coupled-line coupler using printed MSLs was investigated. At microwave frequencies it is important to consider conductor losses, especially in thin conducting structures. The effect of the conductivity of the conductor material, substrate losses and the effect of protective coating were also investigated. The results showed that despite the lower conductivity of the silver ink compared to copper, the screen-printed lines that authors studied are still applicable to microwave applications.