{"title":"Dry printing fully functional eco-friendly and disposable transient papertronics","authors":"Adib Taba, Aarsh Patel, Masoud Mahjouri-Samani","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad70c5","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad70c5","url":null,"abstract":"The demand for flexible printed electronics is growing fast, especially with the move toward the Internet of Things. These printed electrons are usually designed for short-term use, after which they are disposed of. The polymeric substrates used in printed electronics comprise the biggest portion of their non-biodegradable E-waste after their disposal. This paper demonstrates the feasibility of printing fully functional transient electronics on flexible, water-soluble, and biodegradable paper substrates using the dry printing approach. The <italic toggle=\"yes\">in-situ</italic> generation and real-time sintering of silver nanoparticles at room temperature enables the fabrication of complex circuits on such water-soluble papers. A layout similar to an Arduino pro mini board is printed on both sides of a paper substrate with electrical interconnects. Various electrical components are then directly mounted to fabricate a complete, working paper Arduino circuit. Cyclic bending tests demonstrate the mechanical durability and reliability of printed paper circuits under repeated bending stress. The process uniquely achieves robust and complex printed electronics without thermal damage, and the water solubility tests successfully show rapid dissolution of the paper devices in water. Furthermore, the components detached during dissolution are collected and reused, demonstrating the recyclability of the process. Overall, this transformative manufacturing method establishes key technical capabilities to produce next-generation sustainable, green electronics and sensors using renewable materials.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"9 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142188686","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Flexible intracortical probes for stable neural recording: from the perspective of structure","authors":"Suhao Wang, Qianqian Jiang, Jizhou Song","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad71dc","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad71dc","url":null,"abstract":"Electrical neural interfaces provide direct communication pathways between living brain tissue and engineered devices to understand brain function. However, conventional neural probes have remained limited in providing stable, long-lasting recordings because of large mechanical and structural mismatches with respect to brain tissue. The development of flexible probes provides a promising approach to tackle these challenges. In this review, various structural designs of flexible intracortical probes for promoting long-term neural integration, including thin film filament and mesh probe structures that provide similar geometric and mechanical properties to brain tissue and self-deployable probe structure that enables moving the functional sensors away from the insertion trauma, are summarized, highlighting the important role of structural design in improving the long-term recording stability of neural probes.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"45 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142188678","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Mohammad Naji Nassajfar, Mariam Abdulkareem, Mika Horttanainen
{"title":"End-of-life options for printed electronics in municipal solid waste streams: a review of the challenges, opportunities, and sustainability implications","authors":"Mohammad Naji Nassajfar, Mariam Abdulkareem, Mika Horttanainen","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad699b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad699b","url":null,"abstract":"Although printed electronics (PE) are a more sustainable option than conventional electronics, proper treatment of PE in their end-of-life phase is crucial to decrease their overall environmental impacts and ensure the materials specifically the metal fraction of PE are recovered. Thus, to investigate the state of the art regarding the research and development of material recovery from PE, this study performed a literature review process. It concluded that the majority of the observed articles rather not mention specifically what is recycling option for recycling the PE or introduced a novel recycling method for the metal ink. Only a marginal fraction of the articles covered proper recycling methods for the metal fraction of PE. Then based on the literature review process, this study investigates the suitability of the current waste management system to recover different fractions of PE products.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"38 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142188685","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transparent and flexible fish-tail shaped antenna for ultra-wideband MIMO systems","authors":"Shilin Lian, Haoyuan Sun, Hua Zhang, Dan Zhang, Tian Liu, Zhejun Jin, Yu Zheng","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad6883","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad6883","url":null,"abstract":"The article presents an innovative transparent, flexible antenna design tailored specifically for ultra-wideband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems. Using polyethylene terephthalate substrates as the base material, we enhance the antenna’s radiation performance, transparency, and flexibility. Broadband impedance matching is achieved through a hollow ground plane fed by a fish-tail radiator and coplanar waveguide. Additionally, significant MIMO antenna isolation in ultra-wideband scenarios is achieved through the vertical arrangement of units and neutral lines. The MIMO antennas we manufactured exhibit minimum transparencies of 71.1% and 85.9% with and without reflectors, respectively. Measurement results demonstrate that the antenna operates within the 3–20 GHz frequency range, with over 24 dB of isolation, 2 ± 2 dBi of peak gain, and 45% ± 5% of radiation efficiency, suitable for applications in wearable devices, vehicle intelligence, and other fields.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"7 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142188679","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Recent advances in encapsulation strategies for flexible transient electronics","authors":"Won Bae Han, Suk-Won Hwang, Woon-Hong Yeo","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad6a6c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad6a6c","url":null,"abstract":"Transient electronics, designed to dissolve, disintegrate, or degrade in a controlled manner after fulfilling their functions without remaining biologically and environmentally harmful byproducts, have emerged as a transformative paradigm with promising applications in temporary biomedical devices, eco-friendly electronics, and security applications. The success of this device development relies significantly on an effective encapsulation to protect their degradable active materials from environmental factors, such as biofluids and water, and secure reliable device functions throughout a desired lifespan. This review article provides an overview of recent advances in various encapsulation strategies for developing flexible, transient electronics. Details include materials selection, key characteristics, water-barrier capabilities, degradation mechanisms, and relevant applications, categorized into inorganic materials, synthetic/natural polymers, and hybrid composites. In addition, our insights into existing challenges and key perspectives for enhancing encapsulation performance are shared.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-08-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142188680","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Bishal Bhandari, Justin C Bonner, Robert T Piper, Julia W P Hsu
{"title":"Effects of transparent conducting electrodes and hole transport layers on the performance of MAPbI3 solar cells fabricated on PET substrates","authors":"Bishal Bhandari, Justin C Bonner, Robert T Piper, Julia W P Hsu","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad5d01","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad5d01","url":null,"abstract":"This study investigates how the performance of perovskite solar cells (PSCs) made on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates depends on transparent conducting electrodes (TCEs) and hole transport layers (HTLs). We fabricated PSCs using commercially available PET/TCEs and compared their performance with PSCs manufactured on Glass/indium tin oxide (ITO) substrates. Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) with varying levels of acidity and NiO nanoparticles were used as HTLs. The current density-voltage characteristics of PSCs made on PET/TCEs were found to be significantly lower when highly acidic PEDOT:PSS was used as the HTL. However, this was not observed for PSCs made on Glass/ITO. To investigate the interaction between HTL and TCE, atomic force microscopy was carried out after dipping the TCEs in PEDOT:PSS solutions of different acidity. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy measurements further revealed differences in the chemical composition between ITO film on PET vs. on glass. Our results indicate that the performance of PSCs depends both on the TCE substrates and HTLs, which can be explained by their chemical interaction.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"86 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141566755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Flexible self-powered triboelectric nanogenerator sensor for wind speed measurement driven by moving trains","authors":"Wentao Dong, Bo Huang, Kaiqi Sheng and Xiao Cheng","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad5c7c","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad5c7c","url":null,"abstract":"Flexible self-powered sensors have been extensively applied to the Internet of Things, structural health monitoring (SHM), and intelligent transportation. It would be more demanding for the power supply to these sensors during the long-term maintenance of the rail transit system. The wind pressure/velocity generated by high-speed trains poses a substantial threat to safety of human, and new sensors without an external power supply should be developed to monitor wind pressure/velocity in the trackside. Flexible self-powered wind triboelectric nanogenerator (W-TENG) sensor with a single-electrode mode based on conductive hydrogel is designed to wind pressure/velocity monitoring without power supply by harvesting wind energy. It is devoted the relationship between the output voltage of the sensors and the wind pressure/velocity driven by high-speed trains. Material selection and structural design methods are adopted to enhance the energy harvesting efficiency and sensing accuracy of self-powered W-TENG sensors. Open-circuit current of 2.8 μA and open-circuit voltage of 12 V are achieved, and the output voltage signal has the linear relationship with trackside wind pressure/velocity. Field tests are implemented to evaluate the performance of self-powered W-TENG sensors in wind pressure/velocity measurement caused by moving trains, providing an idea to SHM application in intelligent transmit systems.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"14 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-09","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141566754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Andreas Evertz, Jonathan Pleuß, Birger Reitz and Ludger Overmeyer
{"title":"Flexo-printed polymer waveguides for integration in electro-optical circuit boards","authors":"Andreas Evertz, Jonathan Pleuß, Birger Reitz and Ludger Overmeyer","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad5c7b","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad5c7b","url":null,"abstract":"Electro-optical circuit boards (EOCBs) offer great potential for short-ranged data transmission in highly electro-magnetic inflicted environments. Finding a cost-efficient way to manufacture EOCB only using additive printing processes could establish, increase, and secure data transmission in PCB systems. Flexo printing is an efficient manufacturing process that combines high contour resolution and layout flexibility to create optical waveguides. Previous research has shown that printing waveguides on a polymethylmethacrylate substrate can enable optical data transmission for up to 20 cm. However, a thermo-resistant polyimide (PI) substrate is needed to integrate printed waveguides into PCB. Since PI does not meet optical demands, waveguide cores must be separated by printed optical cladding. This research aims to investigate the additive printing process, which stacks various polymers to achieve waveguides that are ready for integration. Further, the integration in PCB is validated according to functional testing of the optical structures. An entire manufacturing process for printed EOCB is presented, which enables the investigation of optical coupling processes in upcoming research.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141552844","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jonas Jäger, Martin Ihle, Kerstin Gläser and André Zimmermann
{"title":"Inkjet-printed low temperature co-fired ceramics: process development for customized LTCC","authors":"Jonas Jäger, Martin Ihle, Kerstin Gläser and André Zimmermann","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad59b3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad59b3","url":null,"abstract":"This paper investigates the utilization of digital printing technologies for the fabrication of low temperature co-fired ceramics (LTCC). LTCC offer great opportunities for applications such as antennas, sensors or actuators due to their outstanding properties like low dielectric loss, low permittivity, low coefficient of thermal expansion and at the same time high reliability in harsh environments (heat, humidity, and radiation). LTCC are multilayer circuits that are typically functionalized by screen-printing. This publication investigates the replacement of screen-printing by digital printing processes, such as inkjet and Aerosol Jet printing, to facilitate a more resource-friendly and customizable manufacturing of LTCC. The use of digital printing technologies not only streamlines small-scale productions and development processes but also offers the advantage of achieving miniaturization down to single-digit microns. In this publication, digital printing processes, filling of vias, lamination processes, co-firing at 850 °C and printing on fired LTCC were investigated. Three layers of nanoparticle silver ink were printed on green LTCC tape and 100% of the embedded printed structures were conductive after co-firing. Filling of vias with inkjet printing was investigated and the most important process parameters were found to be the clustering of vias, the amount of active nozzles and the substrate temperature. Printing on fired LTCC demonstrated high precision, and sintering at 600 °C achieved strong adhesion of printed structures to LTCC. These successful findings culminate in presenting a process chain for fully maskless structured, multilayer LTCC.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"277 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141508886","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Flexible, self-healing, and degradable polymeric dielectrics cross-linked through metal–ligand for resistive memory device","authors":"Yu-Chi Chang, Yi-Yun Liang and Hao-Jung Liu","doi":"10.1088/2058-8585/ad5028","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1088/2058-8585/ad5028","url":null,"abstract":"The ability to self-heal is a crucial feature in nature, where living organisms can repair themselves when subjected to minor injuries. With an increasing emphasis on environmental sustainability, the concept of biomimetic self-healing polymeric materials has emerged as a prominent trend, promising to significantly extend the lifespan and reliability of products. Studies have shown that one-third of proteins in living organisms require metal cofactors to function properly. It is known that protein-metal interactions can enhance the performance of certain biomaterials, and different choices of metals and ligands can create diverse material properties, influencing characteristics such as hardness, toughness, adhesion, and self-healing abilities. Gelatin is a natural polymer derived from the hydrolysis of collagen, and its unique amino acid structure has led to a wide range of applications. In this research, by introducing aluminum ions that form metal coordination complexes with the carboxyl groups in gelatin, an elastic network with self-healing properties was constructed. This gelatin-based material was utilized as an insulating layer in resistive switching devices. Furthermore, by employing a gelatin substrate of the same composition, the device demonstrated strong interfacial adhesion. The device based on the self-healing gelatin film exhibited excellent electrical performance and mechanical properties. Even after self-healing, it maintained a high ON/OFF ratio of up to 105 and a concentrated distribution of switching parameters. Supported by compelling physical and electrical evidence, this study showcases significant development opportunities for biomimetic materials in green electronic devices.","PeriodicalId":51335,"journal":{"name":"Flexible and Printed Electronics","volume":"29 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":3.1,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141508887","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":4,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}