One of most exciting and innovative companies in Printed Electronics is hiring! 🎉 Syenta are looking for three new amazing people in the following roles: - Senior Mechanical Engineer 🔧 - Materials Engineer (Electrochemistry) ⚡ - Software Engineer 🖥 Check out the roles available on our website here: www.syenta.com.au/careers Reach out to us at info@syenta.com.au if you have any questions! 😊 You can below see a presentation of what Syenta is upto to give you a good sense Their team will also be in Berlin so join us to meet them https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

Healthcare is undergoing a transformative shift with the rise of stick-to-skin wearable monitoring devices. These innovative data-collecting marvels, such as continuous glucose monitoring devices and cardiac monitoring devices, offer a new level of convenience and real-time insights into our health status and wellbeing. This article explores the capabilities required, the diverse application areas, and the market trends that and driving the growth of this groundbreaking technology. Use Cases: Stick-to-Skin Wearable Monitoring Devices with flexible hybrid electronics find applications in a variety of areas within the life sciences and healthcare industry. For instance, continuous glucose monitoring devices enable individuals with diabetes to track their glucose levels throughout the day, promoting effective management of this chronic disease. Cardiac monitoring devices help monitor heart rate, heart rhythm, and other cardiac parameters, aiding in the detection and prevention of cardiovascular conditions. These devices exemplify the potential of stick-to-skin wearables to provide continuous, non-invasive monitoring for a wide range of healthcare needs. Production Considerations: The production of stick-to-skin wearable monitoring devices necessitates a partner with a very unique set of capabilities. Flexible circuit fabrication is essential but ideally having the abilities to both advance TRL and MRL prototyping and proof of concept creation, as well as fully scaled roll-to-roll long-run manufacturing is the very best of both worlds. Flexible Hybrid Electronics enables the creation of thin, conformable hardware containing both printed electronics and traditional IC all on a flexible substrate. Sensor integration expertise is crucial for seamlessly incorporating sensors, such as biosensors, thermistors, or electrodes, into on-body compatible, FDA approved materials resulting in devices that are comfortable, lightweight, and conformable to the body. Additionally, knowledge of packaging techniques, wireless connectivity, and quality control and testing are vital to produce reliable and effective stick-to-skin wearables. We exhibiting in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 - join us, 78 other, exhibitors, 68 presenters and 600+ peers. Let's RESHAPE Electronics Together, making it Additive, Sustainable, Flexible, and Wearable. Explore now www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped Market Trends: The need for stick-to-skin wearable monitoring devices is on the rise driven in part by sharp demand for remote healthcare monitoring. These non-invasive, comfortable wearables allow individuals and their caregivers to monitor their health conditions from the privacy and comfort of their homes. The increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and the desire to be proactive in monitoring and maintaining a heahealthythy lifestyle at any age necessitates solutions that provide continuous, remote monitoring, making stick-to-skin wearables a valuable asset. Particularly our aging population seeks healthcare solutions that support independent living, but family members and loved ones don’t always live nearby. This makes FHE wearables indispensable for ensuring the well-being of older adults. Technological advancements, wellness and fitness tracking trends, and integration with digital health ecosystems are further propelling adoption. Forecasted Market Growth: Over the next 5-10 years, the market for stick-to-skin wearable monitoring devices is poised for significant growth. Market research reports project the industry will experience a very robust compound annual growth rate (CAGR) averaging 12-16% during this period. Contributing factors include increasing awareness of wearable technologies, advancements in sensor technologies, rising healthcare expenditures, and supportive government initiatives. The COVID-19 pandemic has also accelerated the adoption of remote monitoring solutions, further driving the market growth of stick-to-skin electronics-based wearables. Stick-to-skin wearable monitoring is revolutionizing healthcare by offering continuous, non-invasive monitoring capabilities. With their diverse applications in chronic disease management and general wellness tracking, wearables empower individuals to actively monitor their health and make informed decisions. Ongoing technological advancements in this field will play a pivotal role in transforming healthcare delivery and improving patient outcomes. Join us in Berlin to RESHAPE Electronics making it Additive, Flexible, and Wearable. Explore the program now www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

A new generation of printed devices. Recent developments in nanochemistry have led to the creation of functional nanoparticle-based inks acting as a base for a new generation of printed devices especially in the bio- and optoelectronics fields of application. However, to take the full benefit of nanoscale properties, at least one dimension of the system must be below the characteristic length associated with the property that is being considered, e.g. thermal diffusion length, the thickness of the diffusion layer, a wavelength of electromagnetic radiation. An example of this principle concerns the realization of enzymatic cascade reactions, which requires the enzymes to be co-localized within a distance comparable to the diffusion layer thickness, i.e from 100 nm to 1 μm. Another example is represented by plasmonic structures such as Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) devices require achieving nanostructures separated by a gap smaller than the light wavelength in order to produce enhanced spectroscopic signatures of elements arranged in between. Such an application needs the pattern’s characteristic dimensions to be below 100 nm. All the high-added value applications considered here underline the need to control materials deposition and organization on a large scale which is sometimes up to three orders of magnitude, i.e. from 100 nm to 100 μm. The current limitations of printing techniques do not allow spatial resolution below the micrometer scale. Nevertheless, the field is extremely dynamic, and new methods of improving printing resolution have recently been explored. Two main approaches can be identified, namely the top-down and the bottom-up. In the top-down approach, the resolution issue is overcome by implementing physical or chemical nano- or micro structuration on the substrate to be printed, thus allowing control of the ink-wetting processes. In parallel, continuous advances made in the field of nano- and supramolecular chemistry are used directly to improve printing resolution through a bottom-up approach. Here, ink constituents are designed to organize themselves in multiscale patterns, including nanostructures. PRINTUP INSTITUTE Research activities PRINTUP INSTITUTE develops research activities at the intersection between printing technologies and deep-tech applications such as optoelectronics and (bio)detection based on its expertise in surface chemistry, nanochemistry, and supramolecular chemistry. We formulate functional inks showing high stability in physiological media but also smart formulations allowing to form structures having characteristic dimensions far below the conventional resolution limit of inkjet printing. One approach consists in tailoring the nanoparticles surface functionalization in order to induce their self-organization upon ink drying. Recently, we synthesized 160 nm SiO2 nanoparticles functionalized by ydrophobic groups (see Fig. a). SiO2 nanoparticles functionalization When a formulation containing 0,5 g/L of nanoparticles in 90:10 water: ethanol is used, the pattern obtained is composed of separate, regular ellipses showing an accumulation of NP on their perimeter and a zero quantity of NP in their center (see Fig. b). Printing of functionalized silica 0.5 g/L in a 90% water 10% ethanol mixture with a drop spacing of 5 μm, Each ellipse has an average size of 140 μm (main ellipse axe), and they are spaced about 10 μm apart. Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) characterization indicates that the nanoparticles layer has a thickness of 200 nm (see Fig c). This structure is due to the Rayleigh-Plateau instability. When a line is printed on a surface, it may experience slight oscillations. These oscillations induce differences in the radii of curvature on the printed line. These differences in radii of curvature lead to differences in pressure (according to Laplace's law) creating a flow of material towards lower-pressure areas. Laplace’s law is expressed as ΔP= 2γ/R, with P the pressure, R the radius of curvature, and γ the surface tension. In the case of the formulations used, the associated oscillations and material flow lead to the breaking of the line and the formation of periodic ellipses. AFM characterization of the printed pattern The aforementioned elliptical periodic structure can be used as a template for the subsequent deposition of silver lines, printed perpendicularly to the ellipse's major axes. The interaction between the hydrophilic silver ink and the hydrophobic underlying SiO2 structures allows the creation of gaps between adjacent silver lines much smaller than those obtained in the absence of the SiO2 ellipses (see Figure d). Printing of the semiconductor in the gap and the corresponding profilometry measurements Subsequently, a semi-conducting, organic ink made of DPP-DTT (thiophene derivative) is printed. DPP-DTT makes it possible to locally cover the interline distance (see Figure d). Profilometry measurements were carried out to determine the topography of the gap. Two profiles were measured. The first one permits obtaining topographic information of the lines of Ag (cf. blue curve Fig. d) in the absence of the SiO2 underlying template. The distance between two lines is about 100 μm. When the silver is printed on the top of the SiO2 ellipses, the pattern has a pronounced coffee ring effect, which reduces the distance between the two parallel lines by one order of magnitude. The Ag deposit has a thickness of 1 μm in the center of the line and 2 μm on its two edges. When the semiconductor is printed (cf. red curve Fig. d) the coffee ring structure is maintained with a thickness of 1.25 μm in the center and about 3 μm on the edges. The electrical resistance of the semiconductor was determined using a semiconductor parameter analyzer; two values (resistance measured between the lines in the presence and in the absence of the micro structuring SiO2 pattern) were obtained and compared. Resistances of 750 Ω and 10 kΩ are obtained respectively with and without the micro structuring pattern. The resistance of this type of semiconductor linearly depends on the size of the gap. By considering a gap of 10 μm in the presence of microstructure and of 100 μm for an unmodified surface, the resistance ratio is close to the ratio of the gap lengths. Perspectives Several perspectives are opened by the results of this work. On the one hand, it is possible to modify a posteriori the chemical functions of the silica nanoparticles to adapt the surface energy contrast to ink other than Ag (silane chemistry). Similarly, the nanoparticle's surface chemical functions can be tuned to adapt to any substrates. The proposed micro structuring method, therefore, has significant potential in terms of versatility. On the other hand, it is possible to target other microstructures than periodic beads, in particular the formation of twin lines of micrometric thickness. By adopting the drop spacing, the formulation of NP inks, periodic structures of silica lines could be obtained and used as a template for printing Ag ink, this time in the direction parallel to the ellipse's major axes. By adopting the NP surface chemical functions, the Ag ink is expected to divide on either side of the silica lines to form periodic conductive lines separated by micrometric gaps and with a length that can reach several cm.

Thomas Kolbusch | Director Sales, Marketing, Technology, VP Smart packaging is becoming increasingly important in the context of steadily rising packaging waste. Plastic films and paper materials are used in a wide range of daily life products. The largest amount of this use is attributable to the packaging industry e.g., food and pharmaceutical packaging. Global production of packaging-related materials is continuously growing and as a result the industry and consumers are producing more packaging waste than ever before without considering the recyclability. The response from politicians, industry and society is to introduce new policies and stricter regulations, as well as new societal expectations to the industry. To handle the resulting ecological requirements, the industry faces new technological and logistical challenges. Beside the use of recyclable and biodegradable materials for products, the digitalization of production processes and the implementation of intelligent and smart products are essential for maintaining competitiveness. In this context, this presentation emphasizes the rising importance of printed electronics in terms of sustainable smart packaging and addresses how the aforementioned challenges can be overcome by implementing ecological solutions on an industrial scale. Work from various EU-funded projects dealing with the further development of sustainable and smart packaging as well as the introduction of industrial roll to roll process steps for the realization of the developed approaches will be presented.

Rolf Meyerhans ​ nsm, based in Zofingen, Switzerland is a company which specializes in the developing and manufacturing of high-precision printing and coating systems in the field of Printed Electronics. Rolf joint nsm in 2022. He has over 30 years worked in the development of mechanical components. He gained a long experience in mechanical design, dimensioning, process analysis and structural simulations. He is responsible for the technological strategy and the implementation of customer requirements together with a team of technology experts. Join us, 77 other exhibitors, 68 speakers and over 600 participants in Berlin (17-18 OCT 2023) to RESHAPE the Future of Electronics, making it Printed, R2R, Sustainable, Hybrid, Wearable, and 3D. Explore the programme now https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

Klaus Mertens CEO Inkjet printed silver and copper can be considered “established” at least among printed electronics insiders – with their industry adoption starting to pick up speed. As a result, new variants of particle inks and innovations and curing have been emerging, which gives industrial producers a few curing options beyond brute heating. In contrast, the range of metals available for printing – esp. high precision inkjet printing, is still very limited. The talk will introduce two first-timers: printable platinum and printable palladium inks by OrelTech from Berlin. Just as all of their inks (including silver, silver transparent, gold, and more to come), they have a range of other advantages: 1) nanoparticle free, 2) low-temperature curing, and 3) high layer purity. Therefore, applications in the biosensor, medical and, more generally, printed flexible electronics market are in focus. Join us, 77 other exhibitors, 68 speakers and over 600 participants in Berlin (17-18 OCT 2023) to RESHAPE the Future of Electronics, making it Additive, Sustainable, Hybrid, Wearable, and 3D. Explore the programme now https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

Join us , 77 other exhibitors, 69 speakers, and over 600 participants together in Berlin to RESHAPE the Future of Electronics, making it Additive, Sustainable, Wearable, and 3D. Explore the programme now https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

Join us, 77 other exhibitors, 68 speakers and over 600 participants in Berlin (17-18 OCT 2023) to RESHAPE the Future of Electronics, making it Additive, Sustainable, Hybrid, Wearable, and 3D. Explore the programme now https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

The Role of the Contract Manufacturer in the Wearables Market. In the world of wearables, your idea may only go as far as the contract manufacturer you chose to partner with can take it. Taking a concept from the lab to commercialization frequently requires a number of adjustments. Working with a contract manufacturer who has the flexibility to make adjustments in order to bring your product to market may be the difference between commercial success and failure. A wearable sensor design, at its basic concept, consists of conductive inks printed on a substrate. In the manufacturing world, a basic concept can quickly turn into a complicated process. The contract manufacturer needs to marry all the aspects of a design together in order to create the perfect component. Conductive Inks Your wearable product will call for a conductive ink made of carbon or silver and possibly with a dielectric ink as an insulator. The first instinct with a wearable may be to go with inks that provide the most elasticity. This sounds like it would make sense especially if the wearable is intended to move with the person’s body. Even the most elastic of inks start to break down as they are stretched. There are many factors that go into selecting the correct inks. Partnering with a contract manufacturer with established ink vendor relationships, experience in the manufacturing of wearables, and enough experience to identify design change is important to the success of your product. Conductive Technologies and 77 other exhibitors will be in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023, helping to RESHAPE electronics. Explore the programme now https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped Substrates The substrate, or the base material that the sensor is printed on, is a key component to the design of a wearable device. Chosen based on flexibility, durability, or other physical characteristics, the substrate in the planned design may not be compatible with the manufacturing process. So, what do you do now? Your contract manufacturer should have experience with a number of substrates and be able to recommend other materials. Carriers Projects may require, either by design or as a design change during manufacturing, to have the conductive printing applied to an image carrier and then transferred to a substrate. You may find that the substrate used in prototyping doesn’t work in the actual manufacturing process. Issues can arise tied to the thickness of the substrate or the ability of the substrate to tolerate the temperature required for the drying process. The design of the housing for the printed sensor may not be flat and a carrier with an adhesive would be required in order to print the sensor and then attach it to the housing. More than Printers When considering contract manufacturers for your product, it is important to identify all of the capabilities that one vendor can provide. While it’s not always possible, it is preferable to have one vendor complete as much of the manufacturing and assembly process as possible. The contract manufacturer you pick should have both clean rooms and environmentally controlled rooms available. Environmental contamination from either debris or temperature and/or humidity can damage or degrade printed electronics if they are not stored or handled properly during the manufacturing, assembly, packaging, or shipping processes. Lastly, but likely the most important is that your contract manufacturer be compliant with FDA 21 CFR Part 820 and certification to ISO 13485 ensures their ability to assist your company’s medical device project along the path to FDA clearance. Conclusion The adage, “You don’t know what you don’t know” holds true when taking a wearable design from prototype to full-scale commercialization this is all the more reason to pick the contract manufacturer who knows what you don’t. Conductive Technologies and 77 other exhibitors will be in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023, helping to RESHAPE electronics. Explore the programme now https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

Arthur Hendsbee | Technology Director Organic photovoltaic technologies are a 3rd generation solar technology which has been steadily improving in the past decade due to rapid evolutions in materials design, device stacks and processing strategies. Due to their high efficiency, non-toxic nature and low-cost-high-volume manufacturing potential, several market-ready applications are now emerging for this technology. For instance, photovoltaic modules for indoor energy harvesting, for integration into buildings such as greenhouses, office buildings or even vehicles. In this presentation Brilliant Matters will outline some of the current challenges in the field of high performance and scalable OPVs from a materials chemistry perspective and will discuss novel materials systems for efficient and scalable OPV devices Join us and the global community in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023. Lets RESHAPE the Future of Electronics, making it Additive, Sustainable, Wearable, and 3D. Explore the programme here https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped

TechBlick is excited to announce that the exhibition at their Future of Electronics RESHAPED event has grown by 50% over this event in 2022 and is sold out with 4 months to go. This year’s show takes place on 17 & 18 October at The Estrel in Berlin and looks to reshape the future of electronics. 78 leading global organisations will be exhibiting and attendees will experience the latest technologies and products - see https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped This premier conference and exhibition looks to re-shape the future of electronics focusing on the key topics of printed, flexible, sustainable, additive, hybrid, wearable, textile, 3D, structural and in-mold electronics. This unmissable event will attract a global audience from innovators and material suppliers to equipment makers, manufacturers and a large number of end users. The world-class agenda too has been announced and confirmed speakers include: META, Volvo, Signify, GE Healthcare, Williot, Panasonic, Airbus, BEKO, Space Foundry, LIFE Group, Cicor, Raynergy Tek and many more. In total over 60 speakers will present over the 2 days and an agenda can be seen below. Agenda 1 - 17 October Keynote Presentations 09.05AM • TechBlick • Welcome & Introduction 09.10AM • Meta • Additive Manufacturing for Future High Volume Manufacturing of Electronic Devices 09.30AM • Volvo Cars • Evolution of lighting in automotive interiors: how will the future look* 09.50AM • Signify • Additive manufacturing & lighting: status, future and challenges* 10:10AM • InkSpace Imaging • Flexible printed arrays and their use in wearable medical devices and MRI imaging* 10.40AM • Beko • Can additive electronics help in the white goods industry* 10.40AM • Exhibition Networking Event Track 1 11.30AM • Wiliot • Ambient IoT – Scaling from billions to trillions, saving supply chains and the planet 11.50AM • Smooth & Sharp • Functional Layer – A Comparison with same Printed Circuit Pattern on Different Polyester Film before and after 3D Thermoforming 12.10PM • SODAQ • Sustainable Transportation Solutions: Exploring the Benefits of Smart Labels and Low Power Technologies 12.30PM • TracXon • Opening up new business models in Printed Electronics by leveraging advancements in roll-to-roll manufacturing 12.50PM • SMART Industry Consortium/Purdue University • Smart devices for digital agriculture, food, healthcare and infrastructure 1.10PM • Lunch & Exhibition 2.50PM • FUJI Corporation • Innovation in electronics by integration of additive manufacturing and SMT 3.10PM • NanoPrintek • A Dry Multimaterial Printing Technology 3.30PM • Space Foundary • Precision digital plasma deposition: deposit multilayer structure without curing * 3.50PM • Syenta • Electrochemical Printing of Multi-Material Electronics * Track 2 11.30AM • GE Healthcare • Skin electrode adhesive performance testing 11.50AM • Epicore Biosystems • Wearable Devices for Sweat and Hydration Monitoring 12.10PM • Quad Industries • Printed Electronics – a true booster for innovation in Wearables 12.30PM • Neurosoft Bioelectronics SA • Soft Implantable Electrodes to Interface with the Brain a Gateway to BCI 12.50PM • Information Mediary • Real World Smart Packaging For Pharmaceuticals* 1.10PM • Lunch & Exhibition 2.50PM • Soplast • Towards manufacturing of 3D automotive parts with integrated electronics using stretchable liquid metals* 3.10PM • PolyIC/Kurz • Smart HMI Surfaces With Inmolded Touch Sensors & Decoration* 3.30PM • BeLink Solutions • The exciting journey from electronics manufacturing to printed electronics manufacturing 3.50PM • Panacol • The way to smarter light-curable barrier sealants for flexible OPV R2R production 4.10PM • Exhibition Networking Event Closing Presentations 4.45PM • Voltera• A Tool for Every Additive Electronics Project 5.05PM • Panasonic Industry • Ultra-Pliable Circuit Board Technology 5:35 PM • Exhibition Networking Event Agenda - 18 October Track 1 09.00AM • TBC • TBC* 09.20AM • VTT • Towards roll-to-roll manufacturing of green wearable electronics 09.40AM • TNO at Holst • Laser-Assisted High-throughput microLED Integration 10.00AM • Danish Technological Institute • Sustainable materials and processes for printed electronics 10.20AM • Yamagata University • Flexible Printed Carbon-based Sensors and Their Applications 10.40AM • Exhibition Networking Event 11.30AM • Coatema • Upscaling OPV into production tech 11.50AM • The Warming Surfaces Company • Digitalizing heating for a sustainable future 12.10PM • Sinovia Technologies • Flexographically Printed OLED Indicator and Passive Matrix Displays 12.30PM • Inuru • Manufacturing thin printed OLED lighting: scale up and real applications* 12.50PM • SamwonAct • Metal Pattern Transferring Printing Technology 1.10PM • Lunch & Exhibition 2.50PM • Metafas • The mass production of a smart textile sock that measures stress behaviour 3.10PM • Loomia Technologies • Automotive Interior Lighting and Heating: Powered by Electronic Textiles 3.30PM • LifeSense Group • Wearable sensors and e-textiles to empower peoples health* 3.50PM • Mycronic AB • Sustainable, digital production of wearable soft-stretchable electronic devices 4.10PM • Exhibition Networking Event Track 2 09.00AM • INKATRONIC • TBC* 09.20AM • Heraeus • Review of industrial applications of printed electronics 09.40AM • NScript • 3D Printed Electronics is Powerful when combined with CHIPS 10.00AM • XTPL • Solution for printed micro-electronics. Next generation of resolution in additive technology 10.20AM • IoTech Group • Digital, Laser-Based, Multi-Materials, Non-Contact Printing of Low and High Viscousity Materials* 10.40AM • Exhibition Networking Event 11.30AM • ElectronInks • Metal Complex Inks for Semiconductor Packaging* 11.50AM • IDS • Ultraprecision Aerosol Deposition: Applications in 3D Printing and Packaging 12.10PM • Printed Electronics Ltd • Superinkjet: going beyond limits of inkjet* 12.30PM • Neotech AMT • Advances in 3D Printed Electronics 12.50PM • Brewer Science • Printed Water Sensors: From Design to Commercialization* 1.10PM • Lunch & Exhibition 2.50PM • Exeger • Mass Screen Printed DSSC Photovoltaics: Powering IoT Applications* 3.10PM • Solliance • TBC* 3.30PM • Imprint Energy • Ultrasafe Printed Batteries for Smart Electronics 3.50PM • Ensurge • Manufacturing Scale-Up of mAh Class Anode-less Solid-State Lithium Microbatteries 4.10PM • Exhibition Networking Event Track 3 09.00AM • TBC • TBC* 09.20AM • Toppan • Highly bendable oxide TFT withstanding over one million bending cycles* 09.40AM • Raynergy Tek • Progress of Organic Semiconductor based NIR-SWIR Image Sensor* 10.00AM • SmartKem • Next Generation MicroLED Displays 10.20AM • Brilliant Matters • Materials Developments for Stable, Scalable and Efficient Organic Solar cells 10.40AM • Exhibition Networking Event 11.30AM • CEZAMAT, Warsaw University of Tech • From Hands-On Experience to Calculated Composites: Case Studies of Scaling Up Biomedical Wearables 11.50AM • SunRay Scientific • Multilayer Silicon RF System-in-Package Technique Using Magnetically Aligned ACEs* 12.10PM • X-trodes • Printed Electrode Arrays: Unleashing the Power of Skin Electrophysiology* 12.30PM • Rochester Institute of Technology • Printed Electronics Via On-Demand Jetting of Liquid Metal Droplets* 12.50PM • Celanese • Silver Sintering Pastes - Improved Bond Performance and Simplified Handling 1.10PM • Lunch & Exhibition 2.50PM • CONTAG AG • A versatile toolbox for innovative mechatronic systems in industrial applications 3.10PM • Cicor Group • Printed sensors using aerosol jet technology 3.30PM • MINT Soldering Solutions • An innovative method to achieve IPC compliant Inter-Metallic Compounds when soldering on printed electronics 3.50PM • Trackwise Designs • Length-unlimited multilayer flexible printed circuits 4.10PM • Exhibition Networking Event Closing Presentations 4.55PM • Airbus • The Printed Future At Airbus On Monday, 16 October, TechBlick are hosting 12 expert-led masterclasses, in three parallel tracks, covering themes such as: 3D Printed Electronics Printed Batteries Ink Formulation Electrohydrodynamic Printing Printing HMIs Sustainable Electronics R2R Nanoimprint Lithography Wearable Sensors InMold Electronics R2R Printing Interconnect Technologies for FHE In the afternoon there will be four company tours to some of the leading organisations located in Berlin, a centre of excellence for these technologies. For further information and to discover more about the current earlybird attendee passes, please contact Chris Clare at Chris@TechBlick.com

Author: Sandra Lepak-Kuc, PhD Eng. linkedin.com/in/sandra-lepak-kuc-5a333b75 Print innovative, print smart, print sustainable, print green; Print Intelligence Why? In recent years, sustainable printed electronics have gained tremendous interest in both science and industry. Novel electronics focus on enhancing environmental friendliness while maintaining functionality. Researchers are exploring materials and manufacturing techniques that enable the production of biodegradable or recyclable electronic components, reducing electronic waste and its impact on the environment. Where particularly? Some of the most dominant subjects involved in this trend are those related to materials and methods in biomedical applications. Rapid advances in medical technology have historically contributed to significant improvements in patient healthcare. The challenge is to develop modern or improved methods of preventive care. It will also allow to reduce the cost of instrumentation, as well as its deterioration and maintenance expenses. Very often, disposable products are desired in biomedical applications. Their main advantages are that they do not require disinfection and reduce the risk of spreading pathogens[1]. The COVID pandemic has further escalated the emphasis on single-use products, both due to the increased awareness of pathogen risk and simultaneously by spreading and improving telemedicine, which has become a permanent part of private and public healthcare[2,3]. Why there? In addition to several advantages of disposable appliance components, their disadvantages are increasingly being highlighted. The environmental aspect is recognized as one of the biggest. In the case of ECG electrodes, for example, the solutions currently proposed on the medical market, both traditional and modern disposable ones, are based on substrates made of materials such as PET or PE and sensors or conductive pathways made of Ag/AgCl. These materials are not environmentally friendly. They are not biodegradable, and their combustion produces harmful gases[4]. In the stream of pro-environmental actions mentioned above, an attempt to replace precisely these materials with environmentally friendly, biodegradable, and biocompatible ones would seem the right course[5,6]. What do we need? Challenges are not only directed toward obtaining an electrically conductive layer from recyclable materials. Many more factors are required. It is essential to ensure printability, preferably by methods allowing large-scale printing. Ensuring recyclability of both the print and the substrate. Ensuring proper adhesion of the print to the substrate. Ensuring functionality under complex conditions - as in the above-given example of ECG, the need to work in contact with the human body, sometimes under various external conditions - temperature, exposure to UV light, or humidity (sweat). Moreover, in the case of electronics dedicated to medical applications, it is also necessary to meet the relevant specific standards. HOW? Alternative materials are being explored that, in between being suitable for printing techniques and having their functionalities, are being made sustainable and less harmful to the environment. This includes using biodegradable substrates, such as cellulose-based materials, instead of traditional non-biodegradable substrates, such as plastic. However, it is a key issue to produce sustainable printing pastes alongside substrates. These are being challenged with increasing demands, the fulfillment of which is often a complex matter, requiring unconventional approaches and innovative ideas. In our research, we go beyond the usual patterns and use materials not previously associated with electronics. These are often unsuccessful attempts, often time-consuming, necessitating unusual methodological solutions. Nevertheless, we have successfully printed graphene pastes based on sodium alginate and glycerine on paper. Subjecting them to cytotoxicity tests showed a total lack of toxic effect of the obtained structures on living cells. Pastes based on glycerine and various reagents such as gelatine, modified starch or xanthan gum. A huge difficulty we encountered was that such materials often did not allow us to achieve the right rheology for screen printing and thus the relevant printability in this method. Fig. 1. Digital microscope photographs of prints on paper (b-f) photos of conductive paths in selected positions as marked in (a); Fig. 2. Metabolic activity of L929 cells treated with sodium alginate, glycerol and graphene layer extract on a paper substrate compared to a negative control (paper). XY plot (GraphPad Prism 9.5.0) The goal? Our research aims to develop a range of available solutions that will make the greatest possible contribution to protecting the environment and saving the climate. Ultimately, we aim to obtain electrodes (e.g., for ECG) and other electronic structures that are environmentally friendly, recyclable, or even compostable. Ones that could be rinsed under the tap or thrown into the fireplace and burned. The road may be long and complicated, but it is an effort worth taking. [1] C. Bloe, Br J Nurs 30 (2021) 628–633. [2] G.B. Colbert, A.V. Venegas-Vera, E.V. Lerma, Rev Cardiovasc Med 21 (2020) 583–587. [3] J. Portnoy, M. Waller, T. Elliott, J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract 8 (2020) 1489–1491. [4] K. Sovová, M. Ferus, I. Matulková, P. Španěl, K. Dryahina, O. Dvořák, S. Civiš, Molecular Physics 106 (2008) 1205–1214. [5] Z. Fang, H. Zhang, S. Qiu, Y. Kuang, J. Zhou, Y. Lan, C. Sun, G. Li, S. Gong, Z. Ma, Advanced Materials Technologies 6 (2021) 2000928. [6] C. Zhang, R. Cha, P. Zhang, H. Luo, X. Jiang, Chemical Engineering Journal 430 (2022) 132562. We are Speaking & Exhibiting at "The Future of Electronics RESHAPED" event in Berlin on 17-18 OCTOBER 2023.