Sussex EPSRC Capital Award in Support of Early Career Researchers

柔性电子设备对于电子产品的未来发展至关重要，包括在廉价的大面积聚合物基板上制造的物联网传感器，或用于个人智能助理和远程医疗设备的不显眼的监控系统。同时，它们不能使用标准制造技术制造，这是因为可变形衬底的化学和物理性质。拟议的打印机将使我们能够存款，并同时结构导电和绝缘材料，以实现传感器和有源器件上的任意基板。支持许多正在进行的早期职业研究活动。这包括在纺织品上沉积应变敏感导体，或为EPSRC和工业界最近授予的一些项目提供独立的解决方案。该奖项要求的主要资金是Aerosol Jet HD打印机，使我们能够创建高密度电子封装和20微米分辨率的设备。3D打印机械零件现在是一个成熟的行业流程，已经改变了汽车，航空航天和医疗行业的工作方式。然而，印刷功能元件，如传感器和开关，仍然是未开发的许多研究和开发的机会。对这种最先进的电子3D打印机的投资将为整个大学的一系列早期职业研究人员提供巨大的好处，以支持他们的许多活动。这包括将应变敏感导体沉积在纺织品上，或为EPSRC和工业界最近授予的一些项目提供独立设备。新设备将与大学新的苏塞克斯量子研究计划相一致，并由该计划管理。该计划提供了一个网络，促进跨学科合作和大学内多个学校的交流。我们的目标是汇集卓越的计算制造，超材料，印刷电子，纳米，光子和量子技术和功能材料科学，从根本上改变研究和行业格局。拥有世界一流的实验室，拥有独特的尖端仪器，如上述打印机，是吸引和留住下一代世界一流研究领导者的关键驱动力。收购的影响可以直接与每一位研究人员及其研究计划的具体内容联系起来。所有被点名的研究人员都是高度认可的科学家，他们的职业水平都有出色的研究成果。由于与现有资源没有重叠，购置这些设备直接意味着能力的增强。

Flexible electronic devices are essential for the future development of electronics including sensors for the internet of things fabricated on cheap large area polymer substrates, or unobtrusive monitoring systems for personal smart assistants and telemedicine equipment. At the same time, they cannot be fabricated using standard fabrication techniques, this is because of the chemical and physical properties of deformable substrates. The proposed printer will enable us to deposit and simultaneously structure conductive and insulating materials to realize sensors and active devices on arbitrary substrates. support many ongoing Early Career Researcher activities. This includes the deposition of strain sensitive conductors on textile fabrics or free standing for some recently awarded projects from EPSRC and from industry.The main piece of capital requested in this award is an Aerosol Jet HD printer which enables us to create high density Electronics packaging and devices with 20-micron resolution. 3D printing mechanical parts is now an established industry process that has changed the way the automotive, aerospace and medical industries work. However, printing functional elements such as sensors and switches are still untapped with many research and exploitation opportunities. The investment in this state-of-the art electronic 3D printer would be of enormous benefit to a range of Early Career Researchers across the university supporting many of their activities. This includes the deposition of strain sensitive conductors on textile fabrics or free standing for some recently awarded projects from EPSRC and from industry.The new equipment will be aligned to and managed by the University's new Sussex Programme for Quantum Research. The programme provides a network promoting interdisciplinary collaboration and exchange across multiple Schools within the University. Our goal is to bring together excellence in computational fabrication, metamaterials, printed electronics, nano-, photonic- and quantum-technologies and functional material science to fundamentally transform the research and industry landscape. The availability of world class laboratories containing unique and cutting edge instrumentation such as the printer described above is a key driver to attract and retain the next generation of world class research leaders.The impact of the acquisition can be directly linked to every single researcher and to specific elements of their research plans. All the named researchers involved are highly recognised scientists, with excellent research outputs for their career level. As there is no duplication with current resources, the acquisition of the equipment directly translates in an augmented capacity.