Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to methods of treating metal surfaces to enhance adhesion or binding to substrates, and devices formed thereby. In some embodiments of the present invention, methods of achieving improved bonding strength without roughening the topography of a metal surface are provided. The metal surface obtained by this method provides strong bonding to resin layers. The bonding interface between the treated metal and the resin layer exhibits resistance to heat, moisture, and chemicals involved in post-lamination process steps, and therefore can suitably be used in the production of PCB's. Methods according to some embodiments of the present invention are especially useful in the fabrication of high density multilayer PCB's, in particular for PCB's having circuits with line/spacing of equal to and less than 10 microns. Methods according to other embodiments of the present invention are particularly useful in the coating of metal surfaces in a wide variety of applications.

Highly conductive silver may be fabricated at room temperature using in-situ reactive silver precursor inks by microreactor-assisted printing without any post-processing. Reactive silver nanoinks, synthesized in-situ from the microreactor, may be directly delivered onto glass and polymeric substrates without any surface treatment to form a highly dense and uniform silver feature. The distribution of the reactive silver nanoinks can be controlled by adjusting the flow rate of the continuous flow. Silver lines may be fabricated using the in-situ reactive precursors delivered via a micro-channel applicator.

Copper inks are provided that include a plurality of core-shell nanostructures, with each nanostructure including a copper core and a barrier metal shell, a diameter of less than about 500 nm, and a distinct boundary between the copper core and the barrier metal shell. Methods of forming a copper ink are further provided and include an initial step of synthesizing an amount of copper nanoparticles in an aqueous solution. An amount of a barrier metal is then added to the copper nanoparticles to form a dispersion of the barrier metal and the copper nanoparticles, and a reducing agent is subsequently added to the dispersion to produce a copper ink comprising core-shell nanostructures having a copper core and a barrier metal shell. Copper films are then formed by applying that copper ink to a substrate and sintering the copper ink.

A temperature sensor can include a resistor, a first electrical contact at a first end of the resistor, a second electrical contact at a second end of the resistor, and a resistance measuring device. The resistor can be formed of a matrix of sintered elemental transition metal particles interlocked with a matrix of fused thermoplastic polymer particles. The resistance measuring device can be connected to the first electrical contact and the second electrical contact to measure a resistance of the resistor.

A method of preparing a graphene circuit pattern, a substrate and an electronic product are disclosed. The method of preparing a graphene circuit pattern includes: immersing a metal circuit pattern in a graphene oxide solution to cause a redox reaction between the metal circuit pattern and graphene oxide, thereby forming the graphene circuit pattern. The graphene circuit pattern may be directly formed at a location of the metal circuit pattern, and is simple in production process, low in cost, and suitable for mass production.

A flux for soldering contains 10 to 40 wt % of coumarin, 5 to 30 wt % of a monoamide-based thixotropic agent and 40 to 80 wt % of a solvent. A solder paste contains the flux and a solder powder. A method for producing a soldered product includes supplying the solder paste to a soldering portion of an electronic circuit board, mounting an electronic component onto the soldering portion and heating the soldering portion up to a temperature at which the solder powder melts in a reducing atmosphere containing a reducing gas to join the electronic component and the electronic circuit board.

A conductive pattern having high dispersion stability and a low resistance over a board is formed. A dispersing element (1) contains a copper oxide (2), a dispersing agent (3), and a reductant. Content of the reductant is in a range of a following formula (1). Content of the dispersing agent is in a range of a following formula (2).
0.0001≤(reductant mass/copper oxide mass)≤0.10  (1)
0.0050≤(dispersing agent mass/copper oxide mass)≤0.30  (2) The dispersing element containing the reductant promotes reduction of copper oxide to copper in firing and promotes sintering of the copper.

Provided is a method for manufacturing a circuit board including: (a) preparing a mixture of a metal powder, an anti-sintering agent, and an activator; (b) immersing a dielectric substrate in the mixture; (c) forming a metal-containing layer on the surface of the dielectric substrate by heating the mixture under an inert atmosphere or under a reducing atmosphere; (d) forming a first metal layer on the metal-containing layer by electroless plating and forming a second metal layer thereon by electroplating; and (e) forming a metal pattern on the dielectric substrate, wherein the first metal layer includes Cu, Ni, Co, Au, Pd, or an alloy thereof, the second metal layer includes Cu, Ni, Fe, Co, Cr, Zn, Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh, or an alloy thereof, and the method further includes performing heat treatment at least once after step (c).

Provided is a method for manufacturing a circuit board including: (a) preparing a mixture of a metal powder, an anti-sintering agent, and an activator; (b) immersing a dielectric substrate in the mixture; (c) forming a metal-containing layer on the surface of the dielectric substrate by heating the mixture under an inert atmosphere or under a reducing atmosphere; (d) forming a first metal layer on the metal-containing layer by electroless plating and forming a second metal layer thereon by electroplating; and (e) forming a metal pattern on the dielectric substrate, wherein the first metal layer includes Cu, Ni, Co, Au, Pd, or an alloy thereof, the second metal layer includes Cu, Ni, Fe, Co, Cr, Zn, Au, Ag, Pt, Pd, Rh, or an alloy thereof, and the method further includes performing heat treatment at least once after step (c).

Process for producing an electronic subassembly by low-temperature pressure sintering, comprising the following steps: arranging an electronic component on a circuit carrier having a conductor track, connecting the electronic component to the circuit carrier by the low-temperature pressure sintering of a joining material which connects the electronic component to the circuit carrier, characterized in that, to avoid the oxidation of the electronic component or of the conductor track, the low-temperature pressure sintering is carried out in a low-oxygen atmosphere having a relative oxygen content of 0.005 to 0.3%.