Inkjet-printed inductively-coupled power harvesting circuits on plastic

已经有大量的研究集中于开发一种无处不在的UPC条形码的电子替代品。要取代消费者条形码，超低成本将是最重要的。由于其低制造成本，基于有机的电路可以实现这一点。在这项工作中，研究人员将开发RFID条形码替换系统所需的技术，并将使用这些技术来演示任何REID系统的一个主要子组件-电力采集子电路。由于电池集成不可行，条形码的电力将通过感应耦合提供。为了达到更换UPC所需的成本点，有必要将此电路和其他Reid电路集成到现有封装上，而对封装过程几乎没有干扰。具体地说，消除对光刻、等离子刻蚀和真空蒸发的需要是确保足够低的成本的关键。研究人员将使用他们开发的纳米晶体和有机基础材料和工艺来展示高质量的有源元件(二极管和晶体管)和无源元件(电感、导线和电容器)，并将这些元件组装在一起，在塑料上制造第一个功能集电子电路。整个过程将使用定制的喷墨打印机以低成本进行，省去了所有基于光刻和真空的工艺步骤。高Q螺旋电感将使用研究人员开发的新型低温金纳米晶体喷墨技术来制造。平行板电容器将使用纳米晶电极和喷墨聚合物介质形成。肖特基二极管将使用喷墨的金和银纳米晶作为整流和欧姆接触，并使用喷墨的有机半导体作为有源层。晶体管将使用现有的聚噻吩基工艺通过喷墨加工来制造。最后，将把各个部件集成起来，形成一个能量采集电路。本科生和研究生都将参与这项工作。特别是，将通过一系列的教程和复习计划来强调对本科生的指导。这项提案的结果也将用于大学赞助的高中推广计划。这将提高当地高中生对科学和工程的兴趣水平

There has been intensive research focused on the development of an electronic replacement for the ubiquitous UPC barcode. To replace consumer barcodes, ultra-low cost will be paramount. Organic-based circuits may enable this due to their low fabrication cost. In this work, the investigators will develop the technologies necessary for RFID barcode replacement systems, and will use these to demonstrate a major subcomponent of any REID system - the power harvesting subcircuit.Power for barcodes will be supplied by inductive coupling since battery integration is not feasible. To achieve the cost points required for UPC replacement, it is necessary to integrate this and other REID circuitry on existing packaging with little or no perturbation of the packaging process. Specifically, the elimination of the need for lithography, plasma etching, and vacuum evaporation is critical to ensuring adequately low cost.The investigators will use nanocrystal-based and organic-based materials and processes that they have developed to demonstrate high quality active (diodes and transistors) and passive (inductors, wires, and capacitors) components, and will assemble these to fabricate the first functional power-harvesting sub-circuit on plastic. The entire process will be performed at low cost using a custom inkjet printer, eliminating all lithographic and vacuum-based process steps.High-Q Spiral inductors will be fabricated using a novel low-temperature gold nanocrystal inkjetting technology that has been developed by the investigators. Parallel plate capacitors will be formed using nanocrystal electrodes and inkjetted polymer dielectrics. Schottky diodes will be developed using inkjetted gold and silver nanocrystals as the rectifying and ohmic contacts and inkjetted organic semiconductors as the active layer. Transistors will be fabricated by inkjet processing using an existing polythiophene-based process. Finally, the various components will be integrated to form a power-harvesting circuit.An undergraduate and a graduate student will be involved in this work. In particular, the mentoring of the undergraduate student will be emphasized through a series of tutorials and review programs. The results of this proposal will also be used in a University-sponsored highschool outreach program. This will increase the level of interest in science and engineering among local high-school students