Electrical engineers at Duke University have devised a fully print-in-place technique for electronics that is gentle enough to work on delicate surfaces including paper and human skin.
The advance could enable technologies such as high-adhesion, embedded electronic tattoos and bandages tricked out with patient-specific biosensors.
Semiconducting carbon nanotubes (CNTs) printed into thin films offer high electrical performance, significant mechanical stability, and compatibility with low-temperature processing. Yet, the implementation of low-temperature printed devices, such as CNT thin-film transistors (CNT-TFTs), has been hindered by relatively high process temperature requirements imposed by other device layers—dielectrics and contacts.
The Duke researchers overcome temperature constraints and
News Source: Duke University
