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，这是由于可变形基板的化学和物理性质。所提出的打印机将使我们能够沉积并同时构造导电和绝缘材料，以在任意基板上实现传感器和有源设备。支持许多正在进行的早期职业研究者活动。这包括在纺织织物或独立支架上沉积应变敏感导体，这是EPSRC和工业界最近授予的一些项目。该奖项要求的主要资金是气溶胶喷射高清打印机，使我们能够创建具有20微米分辨率的高密度电子封装和设备。3D打印机械部件现在已经成为一种成熟的工业流程，改变了汽车、航空航天和医疗行业的工作方式。然而，打印功能元件，如传感器和开关，仍有许多研究和开发机会尚未开发。对这台最先进的电子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，支持他们的许多活动。这包括在纺织织物或独立支架上沉积应变敏感导体，这是EPSRC和工业界最近授予的一些项目。新设备将与该大学新的苏塞克斯量子研究计划保持一致并由其管理。该计划提供了一个网络，促进大学内多个学院之间的跨学科合作和交流。我们的目标是汇集卓越的计算制造，超材料，印刷电子，纳米，光子和量子技术以及功能材料科学，从根本上改变研究和产业格局。世界一流实验室的可用性包含独特和尖端的仪器，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因素。收购的影响可以直接联系到每一个研究人员和他们的研究计划的具体要素。所有被提名的研究人员都是得到高度认可的科学家，在他们的职业水平上有出色的研究成果。由于现有资源没有重复，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.