Inkjet fabrication of novel microstructures and devices

该资助要求一种喷墨系统，使UBC的研究人员能够使用定制的喷墨打印工艺打印新型电子设备，生物材料和微结构。这种单一喷墨系统将用于打印基于量子点的柔性电子设备，有机材料，图案三维组织支架，用于骨骼和皮肤移植，创建用于药物输送应用的喷墨微胶囊，并形成用于无线诊断和治疗设备的水凝胶微结构。与其他图案化技术相比，喷墨印刷提供了非常通用且低成本的微制造能力，其已经吸引了显著的研究和工业兴趣，并且在过去被广泛利用。我们正在申请一种商用喷墨打印系统，其墨滴放置精度为5 µm，位置重复精度为1 µm。包括具有直径在30-60 μm范围内的孔口的喷嘴的系统将允许控制用于各种应用的液滴尺寸。加热喷嘴使我们能够存款高粘度流体，以及各种生物材料。所制造的结构的横向尺寸可以跨越两个数量级，从50 μm有机晶体管到300 μm包封活细胞的液滴，再到10 mm组织支架。至少20 cm x 20 cm的平台x和y轴行程以及> 3 cm的z轴行程将允许我们在单个衬底上制造多个器件，以及逐层制造三维结构。UBC最近聘请了几名新的电气和计算机工程教师，他们在微/纳米系统和集成方面具有重要的专业知识。这种共享设备将促进这些研究人员之间的合作，并为UBC提供新的强大推力，其中包括在此设备上培训的研究生和本科生的重大职业潜力。

This grant requests an inkjet system that will enable researchers at UBC to print novel electronic devices, biomaterials, and microstructures using customized inkjet printing processes. This single inkjet system will be used to print flexible electronic devices based on quantum dots, organic materials, pattern 3-dimensional tissue scaffolds for possible use in bone and skin grafts, create inkjetted microcapsules for drug delivery applications, and form hydrogel microstructures for wireless diagnostic and therapeutic devices. Compared to other patterning techniques, inkjet printing provides a very versatile and low cost microfabrication capability that has attracted significant research and industrial interest and has widely been under utilized in the past. We are requesting a commercial inkjet printing system that has 5 µm drop placement accuracy and a position repetition accuracy of 1 µm. A system including nozzles with orifices ranging from 30-60 µm in diameter will permit control of drop size for various applications. Heated nozzles allow us to deposit high viscosity fluids, as well as various biomaterials. Lateral dimensions of the fabricated structures may span two orders of magnitude, from 50 µm organic transistors, to 300 µm droplets encapsulating living cells, to 10 mm tissue scaffolds. Stage x and y-axis travel of at least 20 cm x 20 cm and z-axis travel of > 3 cm will permit us to fabricate multiple devices on a single substrate, as well as fabricate 3-dimensional structures layer by layer. UBC has recently hired several new faculty members in Electrical and Computer Engineering who have significant expertise in micro/nano systems and integration. This shared equipment will facilitate collaboration between these researchers, as well as enable a new and powerful thrust at UBC that will include significant career potential for graduate and undergraduate students trained on this equipment.