Printable Electronics on Paper through 2D materials based inks

Project Information

PEP2D

Grant agreement ID: 770047

DOI

10.3030/770047

Project closed

EC signature date 23 February 2018

Start date 1 March 2018

End date 29 February 2024

Funded under

• EXCELLENT SCIENCE - European Research Council (ERC)

Total cost

€ 1 883 868,00

EU contribution

€ 1 883 868,00

Coordinated by

UNIVERSITA DI PISA
Italy

Periodic Reporting for period 4 - PEP2D (Printable Electronics on Paper through 2D materials based inks)

Reporting period: 2022-09-01 to 2024-02-29

Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project

The vision behind the PEP2D project is to pioneer the realization of fully printed electronic circuits on flexible substrates as paper, leveraging the exceptional electronic properties of inks based on novel two-dimensional materials (2DMs), and through the wide-spread and low-cost inkjet printing technology.

The development of fully printed electronic systems on flexible substrates as paper could have an unpreceded economical and societal impact on the European Union. Unleashing the potential of this technology could open new and wide applications, ranging from bio (e.g. smart patches for biometric readings), to food/medicine quality control (e.g smart tags for checking the breaking of cold chain), or to anti-counterfeiting of valuable goods, just to cite few.

Actually, technology is endeavouring to implement the main building blocks for electronic applications in the fast-growing market of flexible electronics, but available materials are missing the long-term stability and reliability, and device performance can be further improved. From this perspective, it is compulsory to develop new materials, and device architectures able to allow the fully printing of a working electronic system. PEP2D aims at designing a library of inkjet-printed electronic devices (transistors, and all linear and nonlinear components) and circuits (digital logic, memory circuits, amplifiers, transmitters, receivers) enabled by 2DMs based inks, to be eventually obtained through the use of a single tool as the inkjet process, without the need of any additional fabrications steps (i.e. use of resists, etching etc.) and in air (not in glovebox).

Such a goal can be achieved by means of the synergic and complementary activities pursued within the project and based on advanced modelling and design of inkjet-printed devices and circuits.

Such an approach has allowed us to demonstrate the fabrication of devices and circuits on flexible substrate as paper, through the use of 2DMs, while also implementing CMOS circuits for low-power applications,
relevant for wearable and flexible electronic systems.

Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far

The work performed by the beginning of the project has been focused on the realization of passive and active components for flexible applications and fabricated through inkjet printed technology.
In particular, we have been able to obtain printed capacitors, conductive lines and transistors (both n- and p-type for CMOS applications).
In particular, we have been successfully accomplished the goal of obtaining working low-voltage printed transistors, which have been included in more complex circuits as logic gates and analog circuits as current mirror magnifiers.
From the simulation point of view, a multi-scale framework has been developed in order to investigate the main mechanisms at play in materials at the atomistic level, as well as to compute the transport
in 2DMs network of flakes-based devices.

Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far)

The PEP2D project will develop an enabling technology for the fast growing market of electronic systems on flexible substrates as paper, which has been foreseen to be worth 42 B€ by 2021 (a huge amount of revenues, since the whole semiconductors industry sales in 2015 has been equal 316 B€): the activity within the PEP2D project will guarantee Europe a leading position in this market, securing the needed know-how. PEP2D can open new scenarios unreachable with the current mainstream Silicon technology. We foresee a future where flexible, wearable and implantable systems will allow the reading of biometric data (e.g. smart patches), the creation of integrated lab-on-a-chip (leading to a radical shift of the perspective of clinical diagnostics), checking the quality of foods/medicines/cold chain breaking (e.g. smart tag) and the realization of anti-counterfeiting systems (e.g. for valuable goods).

The PEP2D project aims at designing and obtaining novel electronic devices and circuits on flexible substrate as paper, exploiting the novel technology based on two-dimensional materials (e.g. MoS2, WS2, WSe2, graphene, etc.) and their peculiar properties in order to define building blocks for inkjet electronic circuits, through the guide of multi-scale simulations. This technology is not already available, but we believe that it can be enabled by the exploitation of 2DMs.

PEP2D also wants to establish European leadership in inkjet technology for electronics. PEP2D will be a way for European research and Industry to strengthen its influence in the global and raising field of printable electronics. Leading an effort to define the inkjet printing technology activity with an ERC project, but a global scope, Europe can establish a secure lead in this field.

Pep2D