One of the biggest targets in the electronic field is to obtain wearable systems on flexible substrates (as for example paper) able to implement several applications ranging from mobile healthcare, smart packaging, automotive, and Internet of Things, among others. Unfortunately, one of the limitations is the low resolution obtained on flexible substrates, because printing machines able to obtain such resolutions on flexible substrates are still lacking. Sub-10 m resolutions are needed, so to achieve shorter channel lengths in printed transistors and to improve the electronic transport in available organic and/or inorganic semiconductors suitable for printing. Obtaining such resolutions will be beneficial not only for porting integrated circuits on flexible substrates but also for a wide range of applications spanning from systems for health applications to displays, where a densely packed array of sensors/pixels are needed, together with their connections.
A step forward towards the improvement of the resolution on flexible substrates has been made within the PREPRINT project, where we have demonstrated a high-resolution material printer prototype, paving the way towards the possibility of fabricating integrated circuits with Large Scale of Integration (LSI, i.e. thousands of transistors) in printed electronic systems on wearable/flexible substrates.
In particular, a resolution close to 1 micrometer has been obtained (way beyond what is currently achievable with commercial material printers, where only 10-micrometer resolution is achievable) through the improvement of the performance of a previous version of a prototype (demonstrated within the ERC PEP2D project), which will allow us to compete and early enter the fast-growing market of printable electronics and material printers. Such improvements consisted in: i) the control of the drop ejection, through the implementation of a color version of the sensor in the fiducial camera and the drop-watcher, ensuring a higher frame rate and a better resolution; ii) the reduction of mechanical vibrations through the design of a more robust printer frame; and iii) the development of a temperature-controlled system, including a hot plate and the heater and thermistor of the cartridge.
We aim in the short-term period at starting an academic spin-off company dedicated to material printer fabrication and commercialization. While the market for materials printers is still small and confined to research labs, there are interesting possibilities to translate printed electronics research to the market. Therefore, entering the materials printer market soon could enable the new startup company we are considering to be part of a brand-new market enabled by reliable and performing printed electronics and targeted at specialized and personalized applications.
