Science at the Edge
Engineering Seminar
February 13th,
2015
11:30 a.m., Room1400
Biomedical and Physical Sciences Building
Refreshments served at 11:15
a.m.
C. Daniel Frisbie
Department of Chemical
Engineering & Materials Science, University of Minnesota,
USA
New Materials and
Printing Processes for Flexible Electronics
Abstract
Currently
there is great interest in developing manufacturing methods
for integrating electronic circuitry into flexible and
stretchable substrates for a spectrum of applications
including roll-up displays, wearable biosensors, smart labels,
and electronic skins (‘e-skins’) for robotics, for example.
One fabrication strategy that has captured imaginations
involves the use of digital or analog printing techniques to
pattern electronically functional inks onto paper, plastic,
rubber, or metal foils. However, “printed electronics” has a
number of significant challenges, including spatial
resolution, pattern registration, and printed circuit
performance. In this talk, I will describe a multi-pronged
approach to address these challenges that may bring
roll-to-roll printed electronics closer to reality. To begin,
I will show that innovations in materials allow the
fabrication of printable, low voltage thin film transistors
(TFTs), the key building blocks of flexible circuits, and that
these can be incorporated into simple printed circuit
demonstrations involving two dozen TFTs and an equivalent
number of printed resistors and capacitors. The second half of
the talk will describe a novel liquid-based fabrication
approach that we term SCALE, or Self-Aligned
Capillarity-Assisted Lithography for Electronics. The SCALE
process employs a combination of digital printing and
in-substrate capillary flow to produce self-aligned devices
with feature sizes that are currently as small as 1 m. The
talk will finish with a discussion of the new opportunities in
flexible microelectronics afforded by liquid-based processing.
Bio
C. Daniel Frisbie is Distinguished
McKnight University Professor and Head of Chemical Engineering
and Materials Science at the University of Minnesota. He
obtained a PhD in physical chemistry at MIT in 1993 and was an
NSF Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard. His research focuses on
materials for printed electronics, including organic
semiconductors and their applications in devices such as
transistors and solar cells. Research themes include the
synthesis of novel organic semiconductors, structure-property
relationships, organic device physics, and the application of
scanning probe techniques. Recent efforts also include new
manufacturing approaches to flexible electronics and the use
of gel electrolytes as high capacitance gate insulators in
OTFTs to lower drive voltages. From 2002-2014, Frisbie led a
multi-investigator effort in Organic Optoelectronics at the
University of Minnesota, sponsored by the Materials Research
Science and Engineering Center (MRSEC) program of the NSF. He
is currently the lead investigator on a Multi-University
Research Initiative (MURI) grant funded by the Office of Naval
Research for development of a roll-to-roll printed electronics
manufacturing platform.
For further
information please contact Prof. Richard Lunt, Department of
Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at [log in to unmask]
Persons with disabilities have the right
to request and receive reasonable accommodation. Please call the
Department of Chemical Engineering and Materials Science at
355-5135 at least one day prior to the seminar; requests
received after this date will be met when possible.