Conductive silver films formed from nano-sized silver powders prepared by flame spray pyrolysis

Nano-sized silver powders were directly prepared by high-temperature flame spray pyrolysis; an ultrasonic spray generator was used in the process. The silver powders were nanometer sized and had a spherical shape; further, they did not show a tendency to form aggregates. Their mean size was 26 nm. The mean crystallite size measured using Scherrer's equation was 26 nm. Conductive silver films were formed from the nano-sized silver powders. The powders sintered completely at a firing temperature of 400 °C. Conductive silver films fired at temperatures between 400 and 500 °C had a dense structure and similar thicknesses. The specific resistances of conductive silver films fired at temperatures of 400, 450, and 500 °C were 8.3, 3.6, and 2.7 μΩ cm. On the other hand, a conductive silver film formed from submicron-sized silver powders had a high specific resistance of 19 μΩ cm at a firing temperature of 450 °C.