PFI-TT: Development of a high-precision, rapid curing technology for printed electronics on low-temperature surfaces with off-the-shelf inks

PFI-TT：开发高精度、快速固化技术，用于使用现成墨水在低温表面上印刷电子产品

• 批准号: 1918754
• 负责人: Kira Barton
• 金额: $ 25万
• 依托单位: Regents of the University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2019
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2019-07-01 至 2021-06-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1918754&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: PFI; TT; Development; precision; rapid

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Partnerships for Innovation (PFI) project is to introduce ways to prepare printed electronics. The global market for printed electronics is growing exponentially with new applications identified daily in the automotive and biomedical fields. The majority of existing applications undergo long preparation process, known as curing, in external ovens at high temperatures. This results in significant time and energy costs, while the high temperature requirement limits the range of materials that can be used without undergoing melting, warping, or other damage during the heating process. A fast curing technology that focuses heat can reduce costs, enabling the manufacturing of electronics on flexible, colder surfaces. The ultimate goal is to launch a start-up company offering fast curing solutions to meet market needs in a variety of industries, ranging from automotive to wearables.The proposed project will accelerate the design, development and commercialization of a fast, in-line curing system to address functionalization of printed electronics on low-temperature surfaces. To realize this technology advancement, the intellectual merit of the proposed work focuses on (1) determining performance and testing requirements for a class of identified printed electrical devices and material combinations (ink/substrate), (2) deriving new knowledge of in-line curing methods and system design in the context of key success metrics, (3) determining the correlation between material properties, device requirements, and curing process parameters, and (4) developing a prototype in-line curing system that meets critical design and process specifications. To mitigate the risks associated with the proposed project, the team aims to provide early proof-of-concept and characterization tests to demonstrate feasibility, incorporate design redundancy through the investigation of two curing methods, develop strategic partnerships with industry experts to discuss technical hurdles and innovative solutions, and conduct experimental testing to enable statistical analysis of process throughput, yield, and robustness.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

这个创新伙伴关系（PFI）项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力是介绍制备印刷电子产品的方法。全球印刷电子市场呈指数级增长，汽车和生物医学领域每天都有新的应用。现有的大多数应用都要经过长时间的制备过程，即在高温的外部烤箱中固化。这导致了大量的时间和能源成本，而高温要求限制了在加热过程中不发生熔化、翘曲或其他损坏的材料范围。一种聚焦热量的快速固化技术可以降低成本，使电子产品能够在柔性、较冷的表面上制造。最终目标是成立一家初创公司，提供快速固化解决方案，以满足从汽车到可穿戴设备等各个行业的市场需求。拟议的项目将加速设计，开发和商业化的快速，在线固化系统，以解决印刷电子产品在低温表面的功能化。为了实现这一技术进步，所提出的工作的智力价值集中在(1)确定一类已识别的印刷电子器件和材料组合（油墨/基材）的性能和测试要求，(2)在关键成功指标的背景下获得在线固化方法和系统设计的新知识，(3)确定材料特性，器件要求和固化工艺参数之间的相关性，(4)开发符合关键设计和工艺规范的在线固化系统原型。为了降低与拟议项目相关的风险，该团队的目标是提供早期的概念验证和特性测试，以证明可行性，通过调查两种固化方法纳入设计冗余，与行业专家建立战略合作伙伴关系，讨论技术障碍和创新解决方案，并进行实验测试，以便对工艺吞吐量、产量和稳健性进行统计分析。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。