Study of processing variables on the electrical resistivity of conductive adhesives

In this paper, the authors explored the effects of processing variables, including carbon nanotube (CNT) concentration, assembly pressure, and processing temperature, on electrical conductivity of CNT-included electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs). The main effects of these variables were analyzed under specific range for each variable. Response surface methodology was used to investigate the cross-effects of these variables on ECA conductivity. By fitting the experimental data to the response function, minimum bulk resistivity of 1.5×10−4 Ω cm was obtained at the optimum settings of processing variables (CNT concentration 2%, processing temperature 199 °C, pressure 6000 psi).