Printed circuit on flexible Kapton (via UCLA)
The big brains at the California NanoSystems Institute (CNSI) started the "technology incubator" two years ago for bringing new development at the University of Southern California (UCLA) to the commercial market. They are poised to release one that is sure to have a major influence on countless electrical engineers, a low-cost ink-jet carbon-nanotube based circuit printer.
The startup company Aneeve Nanotechnologies (AN) from within CNSI will be the driving force behind the new offering. Co-founder, and adjunct professor of materials science at UCLA, Kos Galatsis explained the general system, "This is the first practical demonstration of carbon nanotube–based printed circuits for display backplane applications... We have demonstrated carbon nanotubes' viable candidacy as a competing technology alongside amorphous silicon and metal-oxide semiconductor solution as a low-cost and scalable backplane option."
OLED display control circuit made by Aneeve Nanotechnologies (via UCLA)
The team at AN are already boasting the major advantages circuits made with their printer. Since they are using carbon-nanotubes, high electron mobility and a large band-gap (on-off ratio) are the de-facto pluses. Eliminating the need for expensive vacuum equipment and traditional silicon printing machines comes without question. A nano-based ink solution and a new cleaning process lets the end user have a scalable "roll-to-roll" printing of their devices. (Perhaps outsourcing will stop being an issue for the competitive electronics market.)
Release date, price, and what comes along such a process was not covered. The team at AN are banking on the quick uptake of their technology; we will have answers very soon. I like the idea of producing circuits on Kapton in-house. The flexibility of the substrate gives a lot of possibilities for circuit housing and shape. Too bad we cannot print the components as well.
Cabe
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