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Heterogeneous Integration, AI Chips, 5G Packaging, Chiplets, High Density Fan-Out Packages, Scaling, Future of Semiconductors 3D and Conformal Printed Electronics have many existing and emerging applications in Electronic Packaging. In the talk you will learn about the different techniques that one can deploy in 3D and conformal printed electronics. Furthermore, you will learn about different applications ranging from antenna printing to medical devices to conformal as well as area-selective package-level EMI shielding to wire-bond replacement especially for ultra-high frequency packages to heat management in stacked die packages or high-power semiconductor packaging to prototyping of redistribution layers. Finally, you will also hear about emerging digital ultraprecise printing. Here, we exclude exciting approaches as wafer printing. To learn about wafer printing visit the Nano-ops talk at the Techblick platform or read a future newsletter. 3D & Conformal Printed Electronics in Electronic Packaging World-Class Symposium on Electronic Packaging TechBlick is delighted to bring you a world-class symposium covering cutting-edge innovations in electronic packaging. This symposium was originally organized by the Integrated Electronics Engineering Center (IEEC) of Binghamton University. The symposium can now be accessed with a TechBlick Annual Pass granting you access to all online Techblick events for 12 months, access to TechBlick ever expanding portfolio of industry-led masterclasses, and access to TechBlick Netflix-like library of state-of-the-art presentations. if you are not a member, sign up here until 4 November 2021 to save 100 Euros, making the pass just 500 Euros per year (apply code Save100Euros at check-out). Alternatively, you can also set up a monthly payment of € 50 per month with a minimum contract period of 6 months. To do this, email chris@TechBlick.com *original attendees of the symposium can retain their access. Please contact the organizers for your access details. What is included in an Annual Pass: The Annual Pass is € 600 per year. However, until 4 November, you can save € 100, making it € 500 per year. To benefit from the discount, use the following code at registration: Save100Euros. In additional, you request a monthly payment plan of € 50 per month with a minimum commitment period of 6 months. To request this, email chris@TechBlick.com (1) Access to all the past & future events: PAST EVENTS MARCH 21: Printed, Flexible, Hybrid, & InMold Electronics APRIL 21: Graphene & 2D Materials: End Users,Applications, Major Producers &Start Ups MAY 21: Quantum Dots: Material Innovations, Commercial Applications MAY 21: Printed, Hybrid, Structural, & 3D Electronics JULY 21: Displays & Lighting: Innovations & Market Trends OCT 21: Wearables Sensors & Continuous Vital Signs Monitoring OCT 21: Electronic Textiles & Skin Patches: Hardware & Software OCT 21: Printed & Flexible Sensors & Actuators Upcoming Events 2021 4-5 Nov (on-demand): Electronics Packaging Symposium: AI Chips, 5G Packaging, Chiplets. Heterogeneous Integration, High Density Fan-Out Packages, Scaling, Future of Semiconductors 1 - 2 DEC (LIVE online): Future of Photovoltaics: Organic, Perovskites, CIGS, Hybrid Upcoming Events 2022 9-10 Feb 2022 (LIVE online): Solid-State Batteries: Innovations, Promising Start-ups, Future Roadmap 9-10 Feb 2022 (LIVE online): Battery Materials: Next-Gen & Beyond Lithium Ion March 2022(LIVE online): Material Informatics March 2022(LIVE online): Printed, Hybrid, InMold Electronics April: Graphene, CNTs and 2D Materials (past agenda; future agenda TBA) Q2/Q3 2022: Quantum Dots (past agenda; future agenda TBA) Q2/Q3 2022: Micro- and mini-LEDs (past agenda; future agenda TBA) Q2/Q3 2022: 5G/6G Materials (2) Netflix-like library of on-demand content You have access to all the presentations from our past events. Currently there are over 200 on-demand (and growing) presentations from leading global organisations. Click here to browse the content. (3) Masterclasses You will have access to our ever-growing library of industry-led masterclasses, blending theory with practice. The currently-announced programme includes. Read more

VTT has developed a thin, flexible, and plastic-free heater to help in lowering the energy consumption at homes and offices and also to achieve individual comfort temperatures. When attached to seats, walls, or floors, heaters can in the future identify their users and immediately generate heat to the individual temperature preferences of the occupants. Hot Delivery Company piloting the use of heaters in food delivery bags. The use of insulation materials and reduction of room temperatures are means to lower the energy consumption of buildings to prevent climate change. A one-degree decrease in room temperature leads to roughly 5% savings in heating costs. However, the comfort of residents suffers if the temperature of homes is decreased by several degrees. Comfortable temperatures can be achieved locally very quickly and with lower total energy consumption, if the heating can turn on and off rapidly as needed on the surfaces around the inhabitants, for example on the floor surface, on a seat cushion, or on the wallpaper of an adjacent wall. Comfort and warmth at home Surfaces can be heated with the thin, bendable, and flexible heater developed by VTT, which is produced by printing the heating electronic components with a roll-to-roll method. A 50 micrometers or 0.05 millimeters thick metal mesh can be cut to form and installed on, for example, fabric, paper, or floor laminate without an additional support layer. This has a very limited impact on the properties of the material, such as bending, stretch, or breathability, unlike the layer structures used in earlier floor and roof heating systems. “We can produce extremely wide-ranging and fast heaters for different surfaces, and they can be controlled zonally by a common control system. In the future, intelligence can also be added to the heaters with sensors that can identify the person in the room and their perception of the comfort temperature, for example. With the help of the sensors, the heater could also function as part of the safety system”, explains Principal Scientist Terho Kololuoma from VTT. A heater suitable for food delivery bags and table disinfection Home heating is just one example of what the flexible heater developed by VTT can do. When assessing the suitability of the technology, the research group has cooperated, for example, with the Finnish Hot Delivery Company that develops intelligent transport solutions for catering services. In Finland, the Finnish Food Authority Evira requires that the temperature of food delivered hot does not drop below 60°C to prevent the growth of microbes that are harmful to humans. “We are developing a new generation of food transport solutions to ensure that the delivered food is both delicious and safe when it arrives. We are piloting the flexible VTT heater in our new food delivery bag as the properties of the heater seem promising”, says Aleksi Rautavuori from Hot Delivery Company. “Our heater could also be used to disinfect tables and other surfaces in hospitals and other public areas. The surface temperature can be quickly raised up to 130 degrees”, Kololuoma explains. For more information, visit: https://www.vttresearch.com/en/news-and-ideas/precision-heating-home-and-office-vtt-developed-flexible-heater-meeting-individual

Electroninks, the leader in particle-free conductive metal inks and advanced materials, today announced the addition of gold (Au) and platinum (Pt) particle-free conductive inks to its catalog of products. The addition of gold and platinum inks gives makers of consumer electronics, medical devices, sensors, and semiconductors the ability to make lighter, less expensive, and more environmentally friendly products. ​​The demand for powerful microelectronics packed into consumer and industrial products of different shapes and sizes has never been greater. From foldable displays in new 5G phones to medical sensors in athletic wear to new materials and architecture in semiconductor packaging, powerful tiny circuitry is making it possible, and Electroninks’ broader line of conductive inks is enabling greater innovation in this field. Electroninks has already established a superior particle-free ink in the market with its conductive silver ink. The new gold and platinum metal inks consist of metal-organic precursors that decompose cleanly at lower temperatures than nanoparticle inks and can be UV-cured. The inks are unique to the market, providing deep savings on material use (and waste) and costs for customers by enabling similar electrical and reliability properties of vacuum or plated films of gold and platinum. Opening additional doors in product manufacturing, the new inks are catalytically active (may serve as a seed layer) and have a high corrosion resistance — ideal for protective circuits, gas, thermal and biological sensors. Unlike traditional gold and platinum inks that are based on metal nanoparticles dispersed with organics/polymers which degrades performance, Electroninks’ particle-free inks enable reliable printing and manufacturing in non-typical and even space-like environments for its aerospace and defense customers. Commitment to the Customer Electroninks first developed silver inks based on the philosophy that pure metallic films are the best way to increase performance and reliability while reducing the overall cost of manufacturing and ownership. Aligning with its mission to fundamentally change the way its customers develop new hardware technologies and improve manufacturing processes, Electroninks developed gold and platinum inks to fill the need of a wide range of applications in electronics, including forming contacts in microelectronic devices, high temperature, electrochemical and catalytic applications. The gold and platinum inks provide high performance and reliability at high temperatures, making them ideal for use in aerospace and biomedical devices. “As electronic materials and supply chains become more critical due to their usage in nearly all products that impact our lives, the demand for innovation and products making it all possible has hit a tipping point, as we have seen in the past year. Electronics are now miniaturized, wearable, foldable and manufactured with new methods all at the same time,” said Melbs LeMieux, co-founder, and president, Electroninks. “Entirely new solutions providing greater design flexibility are needed. We are committed to providing our customers with the highest quality inks to meet new technological demands that will shape the future of every electronic product.” The Particle-Free Difference Electroninks has developed particle-free inks to provide the markets with a material that can withstand high temperatures and humidity, making them ideal for use in an increasing variety of applications. With the excellent reliability of the material combined with iso-certified manufacturing, Electroninks is the only company to deliver this level of quality and performance from gold and platinum materials. The company aims to be the main supplier of true high-volume manufacturing particle-free metal complex inks on the market. These inks are a direct replacement for nanoparticle inks, metal paste, and sputtered or deposited metals. Electroninks inks resulting films are stretchable, highly reflective, RoHS compliant, catalytically active, and antimicrobial, allowing developers to utilize multi-hour printing to produce products showcasing extreme detail. Particle-free inks also have a longer shelf-life than nanoparticle solutions because traditional binders and surfactants are not used in Electroninks’ metallo-organic inks. Electroninks inks are free from impurities – approaching 99.99% metal in resulting films, providing superior environmental stability and reliability. Due to the superior conductivity that Electroninks’ particle-free inks offer, the same device performance can be achieved by using much less material at a fraction of the regular production costs. The high prices of gold, platinum, and other precious metals have limited their widespread use in the advanced manufacturing industry. Electroninks’ particle-free inks are able to reduce prices without sacrificing quality, which can have a broad impact on the overall conductive precious metals market and their sustainable usage. For more information, visit: https://www.electroninks.com/electroninks-expands-line-of-particle-free-conductive-inks-with-new-gold-and-platinum-formulations/

- Transforming traditional battery architecture Speaker: Gregory Hitz | Company: ION Storage Systems | Date: 9-10 Feb 2022 | Full Presentation Solid-state battery cells offer the ability to host high energy density lithium metal while affording safety above that of state-of-the-art lithium-ion cells due to the use of non-flammable electrolytes and dense layers that cannot be easily punctured by lithium dendrites. Ion Storage Systems (ION) employs a high-ionic conductivity garnet-based electrolyte capable of lithium metal plating without degradation at a wide range of operating temperatures. In many solid-state cell architectures pursued to date, lithium metal plating directly leads to cell internal volume changes. Ensuring consistent lithium plating over a planar surface necessitates external compression which can add to cell and pack overhead costs while decreasing the overall specific energy density of the system as a whole. ION’s solid-state electrolyte is incorporated into cells in a bilayer structure that allows lithium to plate within the confines of a porous ceramic layer which is sintered on a cathode-separating dense ceramic layer. This structure enables constant-volume cells which can host a multitude of cathodes and enable simplified application integration, high energy density and prolonged cycle life. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ Our next battery-related event will take place on 15-16 FEB 2023, covering 1) Solid-State Batteries: Innovations, Promising Start-Ups, & Future Roadmap 2) Battery Materials: Next-Generation & Beyond Lithium Ion The speakers include: General Motors, Graphenix Development, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fraunhofer IKTS, RWTH Aachen University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Meta Materials Inc, Skeleton Technologies, Solid State Battery Inc, Argonne National Laboratories, OneD Battery Sciences, VTT, Leyden Jar Technologies B.V., b-Science, Rho Motion, Wevo-Chemie, LiNA Energy, CNM Technologies, Ionblox, Empa, Zinc8 Energy Solutions, Avicenne Energy, Echiontech, South8 Technologies, Basquevolt, NanoXplore, Chasm, Li Metal, Sila Nanotechnologies, Quantumscape (tentative), Fraunhofer ISI, etc https://www.techblick.com/

A Christmas tree with a thickness of one atom was made at DTU. It shows how terahertz measurements can be used to ensure the quality of graphene. The Christmas tree in the pictures is 14 centimeters long. Since it is made of graphene, it consists of carbon atoms in only one layer and is only a third of a nanometer thick. It is cut out of a 10-meter long roll of graphene, transferred in one piece using a rebuilt laminating machine, and then scanned with terahertz radiation. The experiment shows that continuous quality control can be done during the production of graphene, which is expected to play a significant role in future high-speed electronics, i.e. medical instruments, and sensors. Graphene is a so-called two-dimensional material, i.e. it consists of atoms in one cohesive layer that is only one atom thin. It is more robust, stiffer, and better at conducting electricity and heat than any other material we know of. Therefore, graphene is an obvious candidate for electronic circuits that take up less space, weigh less, are bendable, and are more efficient than the electronics we know today. “Even if you could make a pencil drawing of a Christmas tree and lift it off the paper—which, figuratively, is what we have done—it would be much thicker than one atom. A bacterium is, e.g. 3000 times thicker than the graphene layer we used. That’s why I dare call this the world’s thinnest Christmas tree. And although the starting point is carbon, just like the graphite in a pencil, graphene is at the same time even more conductive than copper. The “drawing” is made in one perfect layer in one piece, “ says Professor Peter Bøggild who lead the team behind the Christmas tree experiment. “But behind the Christmas joke hides an important breakthrough. For the first time, we managed to make in-line quality control of the graphene layer while we transferred it. Doing this is the key to gaining stable, reproducible and usable material properties, which is the prerequisite for utilizing graphene in, e.g. electronic circuits.“ 30,000 times thinner than kitchen film As the researchers have done in this case, the graphene can be “grown” on copper film. The graphene is deposited on a roll of copper foil at around 1000 ° C. That process is well known and well-functioning. But a lot can go wrong when the ultra-thin graphene film is moved from the copper roller to where it is used. Since graphene is 30,000 times thinner than kitchen film, it is a demanding process. Researcher Abhay Shivayogimath has been behind several new inventions in DTU’s transfer process, ensuring a stable transfer of the graphene layers from the copper roll. Moreover, there has been no technology that could control the electrical quality of graphene on the go - while transferring it. This year Peter Bøggild and his colleague Professor Peter Uhd Jepsen from DTU Fotonik, one of the world’s leading terahertz researchers, established a way to do it. The colored images are measurements of how the graphene layer absorbs terahertz radiation. The absorption is directly related to the electric conductivity: the better the conductive graphene, the better it absorbs. Terahertz rays are high-frequency radio waves that lie between infrared radiation and microwaves. Like X-rays, they can be used to scan human bodies, as we know it from airport security. Terahertz rays can also take pictures of the electrical resistance of the graphene layer. By connecting the terahertz scanner to the machine that transfers the graphene film, it is possible to image the electrical properties of the film during the transfer process. Official international measurement standard Suppose the implementation of graphene and other 2D materials is to be accelerated. In that case, ongoing quality assurance is a prerequisite, says Peter Bøggild. Quality control precedes trust, he says. The technology can guarantee that graphene-based technologies are manufactured more uniformly and predictably with fewer errors. This year, the DTU researchers’ method was approved as the first official international measurement standard for graphene. Their method was described earlier this year in the article Terahertz imaging of graphene paves the way to industrialization. The potential is excellent. Graphene and other two-dimensional materials can e.g. enable the manufacturing of high-speed electronics performing lightning-fast calculations with far less power consumption than the technologies we use today. But before graphene can become more widespread on an industrial scale and be used in electronics, we encounter in everyday life three main problems that must be solved. First, the price is too high. More and faster production is needed to bring the price down. But with that, you face the second problem: When you increase the speed and can not at the same time check the quality, the risk of error also increases dramatically. At high high-speed transfer, everything must be set precisely. This brings us to the third problem: How do you know what is precise? It requires measurements. And preferably measurements during the actual transfer process. The DTU team is convinced that the best bet on that method is quality control using terahertz radiation. Peter Bøggild emphasizes that these three problems have not been solved with the new method alone: “We have taken a very significant step. We have converted a laminating machine into a so-called roll-2-roll transfer system. It gently lifts the graphene layer from the copper roll on which the graphene layer is grown and moves it onto plastic foil without it breaking, becoming wrinkled, or dirty. When we combine this with the terahertz system, we can immediately see if the process has gone well. That is, whether we have unbroken graphene with low electrical resistance, ”says Peter Bøggild. For more information, visit: https://www.dtu.dk/english/news/2021/12/verdens-tyndeste-juletrae-er-lavet-paa-dtu?id=b464d7c5-894c-44c8-93c6-07dc8b3ed784

Speaker: Jean-Rémi Pouliot | Company: Brilliant Matters | Date: 11-12 May 2021 | Full Presentation Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

An international research team led by scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) has developed a material that, when coated on a glass window panel, can effectively self-adapt to heat or cool rooms across different climate zones in the world, helping to cut energy usage. Developed by NTU researchers and reported in the top scientific journal Science, the first-of-its-kind glass automatically responds to changing temperatures by switching between heating and cooling. The self-adaptive glass is developed using layers of vanadium dioxide nanoparticles composite, Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), and low-emissivity coating to form a unique structure that could modulate heating and cooling simultaneously. The newly developed glass, which has no electrical components, works by exploiting the spectrums of light responsible for heating and cooling. During summer, the glass suppresses solar heating (near-infrared light), while boosting radiative cooling (long-wave infrared) - a natural phenomenon where heat emits through surfaces towards the cold universe - to cool the room. In the winter, it does the opposite to warm up the room. In lab tests using an infrared camera to visualize results, the glass allowed a controlled amount of heat to emit in various conditions (room temperature – above 70°C), proving its ability to react dynamically to changing weather conditions. New glass regulates both heating and cooling Windows are one of the key components in a building’s design, but they are also the least energy-efficient and most complicated part. In the United States alone, window-associated energy consumption (heating and cooling) in buildings accounts for approximately four percent of their total primary energy usage each year according to an estimation based on data available from the Department of Energy in the US. While scientists elsewhere have developed sustainable innovations to ease this energy demand - such as using low emissivity coatings to prevent heat transfer and electrochromic glass that regulate solar transmission from entering the room by becoming tinted - none of the solutions have been able to modulate both heating and cooling at the same time, until now. The principal investigator of the study, Dr. Long Yi of the NTU School of Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) said, “Most energy-saving windows today tackle the part of solar heat gain caused by visible and near-infrared sunlight. However, researchers often overlook the radiative cooling in the long-wavelength infrared. While innovations focusing on radiative cooling have been used on walls and roofs, this function becomes undesirable during winter. Our team has demonstrated for the first time a glass that can respond favorably to both wavelengths, meaning that it can continuously self-tune to react to a changing temperature across all seasons.” As a result of these features, the NTU research team believes their innovation offers a convenient way to conserve energy in buildings since it does not rely on any moving components, electrical mechanisms, or blocking views, to function. To improve the performance of windows, the simultaneous modulation of both solar transmission and radiative cooling are crucial, said co-authors Professor Gang Tan from The University of Wyoming, USA, and Professor Ronggui Yang from the Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, China, who led the building energy-saving simulation. “This innovation fills the missing gap between traditional smart windows and radiative cooling by paving a new research direction to minimize energy consumption,” said Prof Gang Tan. The study is an example of groundbreaking research that supports the NTU 2025 strategic plan, which seeks to address humanity’s grand challenges on sustainability and accelerate the translation of research discoveries into innovations that mitigate human impact on the environment. Innovation useful for a wide range of climate types As a proof of concept, the scientists tested the energy-saving performance of their invention using simulations of climate data covering all populated parts of the globe (seven climate zones). The team found the glass they developed showed energy savings in both warm and cool seasons, with an overall energy-saving performance of up to 9.5%, or ~330,000 kWh per year (estimated energy required to power 60 households in Singapore for a year) less than commercially available low emissivity glass in a simulated medium-sized office building. The first author of the study Wang Shancheng, who is a Research Fellow and former Ph.D. student of Dr. Long Yi, said, “The results prove the viability of applying our glass in all types of climates as it is able to help cut energy use regardless of hot and cold energy-saving seasonal temperature fluctuations. This sets our invention apart from current energysaving windows which tend to find limited use in regions with less seasonal variations.” Moreover, the heating and cooling performance of their glass can be customized to suit the needs of the market and region for which it is intended. “We can do so by simply adjusting the structure and composition of special nanocomposite coating layered onto the glass panel, allowing our innovation to be potentially used across a wide range of heat-regulating applications, and not limited to windows,” Dr. Long Yi said. Providing an independent view, Professor Liangbing Hu, Herbert Rabin Distinguished Professor, Director of the Center for Materials Innovation at the University of Maryland, USA, said, “Long and co-workers made the original development of smart windows that can regulate the near-infrared sunlight and the long-wave infrared heat. The use of this smart window could be highly important for building energy-saving and decarbonization.” For more information, visit: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/news/detail/energy-saving-glass-self-adapts-to-heating-and-cooling-demand

Speaker: Nad Karim | Company: Sakuu Corporation | Date: 9-10 Feb 2022 | Full Presentation Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ Our next battery-related event will take place on 15-16 FEB 2023, covering 1) Solid-State Batteries: Innovations, Promising Start-Ups, & Future Roadmap 2) Battery Materials: Next-Generation & Beyond Lithium Ion The speakers include: General Motors, Graphenix Development, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Fraunhofer IKTS, RWTH Aachen University, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories, Meta Materials Inc, Skeleton Technologies, Solid State Battery Inc, Argonne National Laboratories, OneD Battery Sciences, VTT, Leyden Jar Technologies B.V., b-Science, Rho Motion, Wevo-Chemie, LiNA Energy, CNM Technologies, Ionblox, Empa, Zinc8 Energy Solutions, Avicenne Energy, Echiontech, South8 Technologies, Basquevolt, NanoXplore, Chasm, Li Metal, Sila Nanotechnologies, Quantumscape (tentative), Fraunhofer ISI, etc https://www.techblick.com/

In a groundbreaking new study, researchers at the University of Minnesota Twin Cities used a customized printer to fully 3D print a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. The discovery could result in low-cost OLED displays in the future that could be widely produced using 3D printers by anyone at home, instead of by technicians inexpensive microfabrication facilities. The research is published in Science Advances, a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). The OLED display technology is based on the conversion of electricity into light using an organic material layer. OLEDs function as high-quality digital displays, which can be made flexible and used in both large-scale devices such as television screens and monitors as well as handheld electronics such as smartphones. OLED displays have gained popularity because they are lightweight, power-efficient, thin and flexible, and offer a wide viewing angle and high contrast ratio. “OLED displays are usually produced in big, expensive, ultra-clean fabrication facilities,” said Michael McAlpine, a University of Minnesota Kuhrmeyer Family Chair Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and the senior author of the study. “We wanted to see if we could basically condense all of that down and print an OLED display on our table-top 3D printer, which was custom built and costs about the same as a Tesla Model S.” The group had previously tried 3D printing OLED displays, but they struggled with the uniformity of the light-emitting layers. Other groups partially printed displays but also relied on spin-coating or thermal evaporation to deposit certain components and create functional devices. In this new study, the University of Minnesota research team combined two different modes of printing to print the six device layers that resulted in a fully 3D-printed, flexible organic light-emitting diode display. The electrodes, interconnects, insulation, and encapsulation were all extrusion printed, while the active layers were spray printed using the same 3D printer at room temperature. The displayed prototype is about 1.5 inches on each side and has 64 pixels. Every pixel works and displays light. “I thought I would get something, but maybe not a fully working display,” said Ruitao Su, the first author of the study and a 2020 University of Minnesota mechanical engineering Ph.D. graduate who is now a postdoctoral researcher at MIT. “But then it turns out all the pixels were working, and I can display the text I designed. My first reaction was ‘It is real!’ I was not able to sleep, the whole night.” Su said the 3D-printed display was also flexible and could be packaged in an encapsulating material, which could make it useful for a wide variety of applications. “The device exhibited a relatively stable emission over the 2,000 bending cycles, suggesting that fully 3D printed OLEDs can potentially be used for important applications in soft electronics and wearable devices,” Su said. The researchers said the next steps are to 3D print OLED displays that are higher resolution with improved brightness. “The nice part about our research is that the manufacturing is all built-in, so we're not talking 20 years out with some ‘pie in the sky vision,” McAlpine said. “This is something that we actually manufactured in the lab, and it is not hard to imagine that you could translate this to printing all kinds of displays ourselves at home or on the go within just a few years, on a small portable printer.” For more information, visit: https://twin-cities.umn.edu/news-events/researchers-develop-first-fully-3d-printed-flexible-oled-display

NTU Singapore scientists develop biodegradable printed paper batteries Once expended, eco-friendly batteries break down in soil within weeks Scientists from Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore) have developed paper-thin biodegradable zinc batteries that could one day become an environmentally sustainable option for powering flexible and wearable electronic systems. The NTU Singapore-developed zinc batteries are made up of electrodes (through which the electrical current leaves or enters the battery) screen-printed on both sides of a piece of cellulose paper that has been reinforced with hydrogel. Once the battery has been expended, it can be buried in soil, where it breaks down completely within a month. In a proof-of-concept experiment described in the scientific journal Advanced Science, the NTU team demonstrated how a 4cm x 4cm square printed paper battery could power a small electric fan for at least 45 minutes. Bending or twisting the battery did not interrupt the power supply. In another experiment using a 4cm x 4cm battery to power an LED, the scientists showed that despite cutting away parts of the paper battery, the LED remained lit, indicating that cutting does not affect the functionality of the battery. The scientists think their printed battery could be integrated into flexible electronics such as foldable smartphones that are already on the market, or biomedical sensors for health monitoring. Professor Fan Hongjin from the NTU School of Physical and Mathematical Sciences and the study’s co-lead author, said: “Traditional batteries come in a variety of models and sizes, and choosing the right type for your device could be a cumbersome process. Through our study, we showed a simpler, cheaper way of manufacturing batteries, by developing a single large piece of battery that can be cut to desired shapes and sizes without loss of efficiency. These features make our paper batteries ideal for integration in the sorts of flexible electronics that are gradually being developed.” Assistant Professor Lee Seok Woo from the NTU School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering and the study’s co-lead author, said: “We believe the paper battery we have developed could potentially help with the electronic waste problem, given that our printed paper battery is non-toxic and does not require aluminum or plastic casings to encapsulate the battery components. Avoiding the packaging layers also enables our battery to store a higher amount of energy, and thus power, within a smaller system.” The development of printed paper zinc batteries by the NTU research team, which also includes research fellows Dr. Yang Peihua and Dr. Li Jia, is in line with the NTU 2025 vision and the University’s Sustainability Manifesto, which aspire to develop sustainable solutions to address some of humanity’s pressing grand challenges. Fabricating ‘sandwich-style’ batteries Batteries power devices through an electrochemical reaction, which produces electrical energy. The internal workings of a battery are usually housed within a metal or plastic case. Inside this case are the cathode and anode – these are electrodes where the electrochemical reactions occur. A separator added between the cathode and anode creates a barrier and prevents the electrodes from touching while allowing electrical charge to flow freely between them, avoiding short circuits. Also inside the battery is a medium known as the electrolyte, which allows the electric charge to flow between the cathode and anode. To develop a thinner, lighter prototype with no packaging required, the NTU scientists adopted a “sandwich design” for their batteries – the electrodes are like the bread slices, and the cellulose paper that the electrodes are printed on is like the sandwich filling. The fabrication process starts with reinforcing cellulose paper with hydrogel to fill up the fiber gaps found naturally in cellulose. This forms a dense separator that effectively prevents the mixing of the electrodes, which are formulated as ‘electrode inks’ and screen-printed onto both sides of the hydrogel-reinforced cellulose paper. The anode ink is mainly made up of zinc and carbon black (a conductive type of carbon). As for the cathode ink, the scientists developed one type with manganese and another with nickel as a proof-of-concept, though the research team said that other metals could possibly be used. After the electrodes are printed, the battery is immersed in an electrolyte. A layer of gold thin foil is then coated on the electrodes to increase the conductivity of the battery. The final product is about 0.4mm thick – about the thickness of two strands of human hair. An eco-friendly alternative With hydrogel and cellulose are naturally broken down by bacteria, fungi, and other microorganisms, the battery can simply be buried in the being soil at the end of its life span where it breaks down in a matter of weeks, making it a fully biodegradable product. To demonstrate the paper battery’s biodegradability, the NTU scientists buried it in the soil of a rooftop garden on the NTU campus. The hydrogel-reinforced cellulose paper started fracturing after two weeks and degraded completely within a month. Prof Fan said: “When decomposition happens, the electrode materials are released into the environment. The nickel or manganese used in the cathodes will remain in their oxide or hydroxide forms, which are close to the form of natural minerals. The zinc found in the anode will be naturally oxidized to form a non-toxic hydroxide. This points to the battery’s potential as a more sustainable alternative to current batteries.” Going forward, the NTU team hopes to demonstrate the complete integration of the printed paper battery to other printed electronics, electronic skins, as well as energy storage systems deployed in the environment. For more information, visit: https://www.ntu.edu.sg/news/detail/batteries-of-the-future-could-be-paper-thin-and-biodegradable

of Printed Hybrid Electronics Assemblies Speaker: Alison Kritz | Company: Parsons | Date: 11-12 May 2021 | Full Presentation We will present an investigation of risks of failure in a prototype printed hybrid electronics (PHE) Arduino-type circuit to be fabricated using a variety of additive manufacturing technologies including aerosol-jet, syringe, and stereolithography (SLA) printing. The interfaces of different components and materials in this design introduce potential sources of failure including thermal expansion mismatches and silver migration resulting from temperature cycling. We will discuss the design rationale, fabrication methods, and testing conditions of three different test coupons, each of which isolates a different area of interest in the PHE assembly and seeks to identify and prevent the greatest risks. Join TechBlick on an annual pass to join all live online conference or online version of onsite conference access library of on-demand talks (600 talks + PDFs) portfolio of expert led masterclass year-round platform https://www.techblick.com/ And do NOT miss our flagship event in Berlin on 17-18 OCT 2023 focused on Reshaping the Future of Electronics. This event attracts 550-600 participants from all the world and offers a superb ambience and dynamic exhibition floor. To learn more visit https://www.techblick.com/electronicsreshaped To see feedback about previous event see https://www.techblick.com/events-agenda

Enabling fine wire printing at 30 μm and less, with potential to further improve transparency and flexibility for electronic devices such as display devices and next-generation automotive window defoggers TANAKA Kikinzoku Kogyo K.K. (Head office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director & CEO: Koichiro Tanaka), which operates the TANAKA Precious Metals manufacturing business, announced today that TANAKA has developed a Low-Temperature Sintering Nano-Silver Paste for Printed Wiring optimized for screen printing1 and current availability of samples. This product enables miniaturization and improved bending resistance of wiring, for use in screen printing, which is a mainstream printing method used in the field of printed electronics. For this reason, it is expected to be widely used for flexible devices such as smartphones and wearable devices that need bending resistance, and for improving transparency in window defoggers and other products for which demand will grow as electric vehicles become more popular. Product Features ■ Paste suited to printing fine wires of 30 μm and less Normally, the limit for printing wires in the screen printing process is about 50 μm in width. However, by combining suitable printers and screens with this paste, it is possible to print fine wires (30 μm and less) directly onto glass, which is a difficult medium for fine-line printing, and onto other materials such as PET film3 and green sheets. This will enable higher performance and improved productivity for electronic devices that require transparency, including window defoggers for next-generation vehicles and transparent antennas for 5G applications. ■ Bending resistance for printed wiring Wires printed on PET film and other bendable organic substrates (100 μm printed wiring) were proven to show zero breakages over 100,000 cycles when subjected to a bending test with a bending radius of 0.5 mm. This product is therefore expected to be used for flexible devices such as smartphones and wearable devices that need both flexibility and durability. ■ Low resistance of 10 μΩcm and less When sintered at heating temperatures of around 90°C, wires have a resistance value below 10 μΩcm, giving this product unusually low resistance even for a low-temperature sintering nanosilver paste. ■Nano-silver paste optimized for screen printing This printing paste consists of nano and submicron silver particles suited to screen printing, which is the most common printing method used in the field of printed electronics. The paste was successfully developed to create wires with good resistance to bending and improved screen printing performance, through particle size control, solvent selection, and additives like polymer compounds, to optimize it for screen printing. The use of fine wiring in using screen printing, which is a general printing process, is also expected to deliver improved productivity. As a result of these advantages, this product is expected to contribute greatly to a range of electronic devices that will contribute to the IoT (internet of things) society, from fine wire heating technologies that prevent glass fogging (a need that is expected to increase as electric vehicles become more popular) to healthcare-related wearable devices and 5G-oriented transparent antennas that do not compromise the view. Samples of the product are already available with the aim of starting mass production before the end of 2022. For more information, visit https://tanaka-preciousmetals.com/en/news_release/20211015/