-
- News
- Books
Featured Books
- pcb007 Magazine
Latest Issues
Current IssueAdvancing the Advanced Materials Discussion
Moore’s Law is no more, and the advanced material solutions to grapple with this reality are surprising, stunning, and perhaps a bit daunting. Buckle up for a dive into advanced materials and a glimpse into the next chapters of electronics manufacturing.
Inventing the Future With SEL
Two years after launching its state-of-the-art PCB facility, SEL shares lessons in vision, execution, and innovation, plus insights from industry icons and technology leaders shaping the future of PCB fabrication.
Sales: From Pitch to PO
From the first cold call to finally receiving that first purchase order, the July PCB007 Magazine breaks down some critical parts of the sales stack. To up your sales game, read on!
- Articles
- Columns
- Links
- Media kit
||| MENU - pcb007 Magazine
Basic Principles of Polymer Thick Film Flexible Circuits
August 7, 2014 | Joe Fjelstad, Verdant ElectronicsEstimated reading time: 1 minute

Polymer thick film (PTF) technologies have been used to manufacture printed circuits for decades. In fact, some of the very first circuits ever produced in volume were made by printing conductive inks patterned on an insulating substrate using a stencil. While the versatile nature of the materials used and the simplicity of the manufacturing process have made possible its continued use for more than six decades. In more recent decades, the technology has seen extensive use in the manufacture of inexpensive, polyester film-based membrane switches for electronic devices of every imaginable type, from hand-held calculators and computer keyboards to household appliances including microwave ovens and washers and dryers and beyond.
Polymer thick film circuits are similar in many ways to their rigid and flexible counterparts; however, because of the materials and processes, they have their own very specific design rules. Because most PTF processing is most commonly based on screen printing technology, the limits of design are intrinsically linked to the printed ink’s processing considerations and limitations. For example, there are the unique processing properties for conductive and resistive as well as insulating inks in terms of their thixotropy, which influence their printability. There is also the important consideration of the final values for the conductivity and/or resistivity of the ink used when cured. In addition, there are also the limits of the screen printing materials and the processes used.
Traditional screen printing methods are typically limited to the production of relatively course features (e.g., 250 µm). However, very fine-featured screen printed circuit technology has been reported down to ranges closer to 125 µm. For the foreseeable future, screen printing will remain an important technology for the manufacture of PTF circuits, both rigid and flexible. That said, inkjet printing is well positioned to augment time honored screen print methods. It also opens the door to realizing the possibility of producing circuits economically at a run unit of one, which has been one of the ideals of manufacturing.
Read the full article here.
Editor's Note: This article originally appeared in the June 2014 issue of The PCB Magazine.
Testimonial
"Advertising in PCB007 Magazine has been a great way to showcase our bare board testers to the right audience. The I-Connect007 team makes the process smooth and professional. We’re proud to be featured in such a trusted publication."
Klaus Koziol - atgSuggested Items
Marco Pieters Appointed ASML Chief Technology Officer
10/09/2025 | ASMLASML Holding NV (ASML) announced the appointment of Marco Pieters as Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer, reporting to President and Chief Executive Officer, Christophe Fouquet.
Advanced Rework Technology Inspires Students at National Manufacturing Day 2025
10/08/2025 | A.R.T. Ltd.Advanced Rework Technology Ltd. (A.R.T.), a leading independent IPC-accredited training provider, joined forces with Jaltek, a UK-based electronics manufacturer with over 35 years’ experience in designing and producing high-quality electronic products, to deliver hands-on workshops for students during National Manufacturing Day 2025.
I-Connect007 Releases Episode 5 of Groundbreaking Ultra HDI Podcast Series
10/08/2025 | I-Connect007In Episode 5 “Via Structures,” host Nolan Johnson welcomes back John Johnson, Director of Quality and Advanced Technology at American Standard Circuits. Together, they explore the designer’s perspective on UHDI’s impact on via structures, diving into the metallurgy, chemistry, mechanical considerations, and stackup reduction that provide greater design flexibility and fewer constraints than ever before.
EDADOC Ushers in a New Era of Robotics Innovation
10/07/2025 | Edy Yu, Editor-in-Chief, ECIOOn Sept. 11, Shanghai Zhiyuan Technology Co., Ltd. (MScape) made a stunning debut at Shanghai’s 2025 Fourth North Bund Cybersecurity Forum and Cyber Intelligence Security Frontier Technology and Equipment Exhibition. The company presented the world’s first Dvorak super heterogeneous architecture and the Zhijing T-series-embodied intelligence (robotics) edge computing power platform. This has been a game-changer in the cybersecurity technology field, filling the gap in the domestic robotics core computing power platform.
TI DLP® Technology Delivers High-Precision Digital Lithography for Advanced Packaging
10/02/2025 | Texas InstrumentsTexas Instruments is enhancing the next generation of digital lithography with the introduction of the DLP991UUV digital micromirror device (DMD), the company’s highest resolution direct imaging solution to date.