Printed Electronics Research Through University-Industry Partnerships
Outline Background on Printed Electronics (PE) Corporate Partnerships Raytheon UMass Lowell Research Institute (RURI) Printed Electronics Research Collaborative (PERC) PE Capabilities at UML Ongoing Projects Printed flexible antennas CNT transistors, frequency selective surfaces 3D Printed Antenna Arrays
Printed Electronics Applications Flexible Displays Wearable Electronics Health Monitoring Flexible/conformal antennas Flexible photovoltaic panels RFIDs/NFC technologies Sensors (chemical, bio, structural) Integrated Photonics Distributed wireless networks Frequency Selective Surfaces Smart skins Printed batteries Energy harvesting Smart packaging Chip/subsystem packaging The Printed Electronics market is expected to grow from $16B to $80B over the next 10 years. IDTechEx RFID tags What is it? An additive, maskless process for depositing patterned functional inks (metals, dielectrics or active materials) onto flexible, rigid, or non-planar substrates. Flexible, Wearable, Large Area Electronics Lower Cost Rapid Prototyping & Design Cycle - CAD to printing Integrate Different Materials and Functionality on a Common Platform
Additive Manufacturing Trends Additive/Digital technologies are emerging as a strategy for advancing manufacturing in the U.S. Structural 3D printing has emerged first although the equipment vendor market is fractured and crowded with hobby-based equipment Additive printing of electronically-functional materials is potentially transformative to the electronics industry but Printing equipment for fine features are not well developed Need to integrate semiconductor ICs with flexible substrates Plastics not developed for electronic applications Electronically-functional inks are at a nascent stage of development The Federal government is funding large AM programs America makes-namii Flexible Hybrid Electronics
UML Strategy for Printed Electronics Mission Establish UML as a leader in printed and flexible electronics and act as a catalyst for printed electronics development in the region Approach Establish a Flexible/Printed Electronics Research Facility in the Saab Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center (Saab ETIC) Leverage University Expertise and Infrastructure Expertise in aligned technologies such as nanomaterials, plastics Infrastructure includes: clean room, plastics high bay, research centers Establish Strong Partnerships with Industry Raytheon - UMass Lowell Research Institute (RURI) formed to work on projects with impact on future DoD systems aligned to Raytheon s strategic goals Expand corporate interactions to other companies in the supply chain necessary for development of this industry - PERC
Raytheon-UMass Lowell Research Institute Focus on Printed Electronics, Additive/Digital Manufacturing Emphasis on DoD and high frequency applications New model for university-industry collaboration Raytheon researchers work on projects with faculty & students Close proximity of Raytheon facilities increases interactions Financial Commitments $3M over 3 years for facility use (option for $2M more) $500K per year for research projects (IRAD) Projects initially funded by IRAD Will pursue federal funding will need teaming arrangements Train the next generation of Raytheon engineers in areas of Additive Manufacturing and Printed/Flexible Electronics
Raytheon-UML Research Institute (RURI) Established RTN footprint on campus October 2014 New model: Co-location of UML and Raytheon personnel Focus on Printed Electronics for DoD Investment in facility use ($3-5M) $500K/yr in IRAD Ribbon Cutting ceremony on Oct 10 Moved into Facility late Dec 2014 Projects funded by internal R&D since 2012 Flexible antennas, frequency selective surfaces Hybrid chip integration, printed transistors Pursuing federal funding Ribbon Cutting Boston Globe Lowell Sun
Potential Application: Phased Array Radar Current Generation Heavy - needs structural support Requires large flat surface Significant power requirements Expensive Future Generation Lightweight, flexible, conformal Semiconductor chips interconnected by printing Potential for lower cost and power Deployable in more applications (e.g., weather radars)
Printed Electronics Supply Chain Systems Subsystems Phased Array Antennas AM-Based Printed Circuit Boards Frequency Selective Surfaces Flexible Displays & Lighting Solar Cells Medical Monitors RFIDs Components Thin ICs with Printed Interconnects Printed Transistors Antennas Metamaterial- Based Devices Sensors LEDs Batteries Processing Equipment 3D structural printers Functional ink printers- 2D Functional ink printers- for 3D objects Optical & thermal sintering Pick & Place die mounting on flex substrates Test equipment for large, flexible circuits Printable Materials Electrically Conductive Inks CNTs & graphene Flexible low loss Substrates Dielectrics Quantum Dots Organic Semiconductors Piezo- & Ferroelectric materials Thermally Conductive Inks Printed Electronics Requires Systems Thinking and Materials Expertise
Controlling Materials and Processes: From the Nano Level and Up Functionality 10-9 10-6 10-3 10 0 10 +3 Dimensions (m)
Printed Electronics Research Collaborative (PERC) The Printed Electronics Research Collaborative (PERC) will establish a strategic partnership between Industry, University and Government. It will include large, medium, and small companies, public and private universities, and DoD and New England partners to strengthen and expand the region s capabilities in printed and flexible electronics. Key elements of PERC include: Establish world-class PE research rooted in real world applications Solicit member organizations providing elements of the PE Supply Chain Focus on companies with a presence in New England Region Leverage State funding in the form of a 3:1 match Initially focus on DoD applications Provide training for future PE engineers and scientists Impact other industries such as medical, energy, logistics, etc. Leverage PE-related assets on UML campus PERC will create teaming arrangements that will pre-position Massachusetts companies to pursue large federal grants
Why PERC at UMass Lowell? State of the art printed electronics facility in place in the Saab Emerging Technologies Innovation Center (ETIC) Significant corporate partnerships in place Raytheon UMass Lowell Research Institute (RURI) DoD partnership in place Army HEROES Lab Matching (3:1) funding from State provide funding-multiplier Initial projects already in progress Printed flexible antennas, CNT transistors, frequency selective surfaces Printed flexible PCBs Significant materials expertise and infrastructure in place NSF Nanomanufacturing Center Plastics Engineering Department Ability to tailor substrate properties
Leverage University Expertise and Infrastructure Center for Photonics, Electromagnetics and Nanoelectronics (PEN) Printed electronics, Metamaterials, Optical fiber sensors, Quantum dot IR focal plane arrays, SiC precursor materials Clean room NSF Center for High Rate Nanomanufacturing One of four centers in the U.S. Nanoelement patterning, polymer science Nanofabrication Clean Room E-Beam lithography, Atomic Layer Deposition Carbon nanotube and graphene deposition Plastics, Polymer processing Submillimeter Wave Lab Terahertz technology, Army funded Army Natick HEROES Lab (Harnessing Emerging Research Opportunities to Empower Soldiers) Natick Lab facility on our campus soldier monitoring Focused Ion Beam Material Characterization Lab Focused Ion Beam Plastics Engineering PERC Members will benefit from collaboration with existing UML research centers and access to UML resources
Current UML Printed Electronic Research Thrusts Antenna Arrays Metamaterial Structures Frequency Selective Surfaces High Frequency Transistors (CNT-based) Passive Devices - Fixed (R, C) Tunable Passive Devices Varactors Coplanar Waveguides Printed RF Resonators Printed Chip Interconnects Printed Circuit Cards
Active Devices: Printed vs. Hybrid Chip Integration ALL PRINTED Printed CNT Transistor Four Element Antenna Array Applications with low transistor count dispersed over a large area HYBRID CHIP INTEGRATION Applications with a high degree of complexity and/or challenging performance requirements Printed connection to chip bond pad
Electronic Printing: Capillary-Based System Sonoplot System Capillary dispensing system Ultrasonic pumping to dispense fluid Can pattern materials in fluid form CAD driven 10 micron minimum features Vendor is Sonoplot Inc. Printed 4-element patch antenna array
Electronic Printing: Aerosol Jet System 4 Non-contact deposition, 2-7 mm standoff height from nozzle tip to substrate surface Standoff provides flexibility for printing over 3D surfaces many packaging applications Tight Dep. Beam (~10μm to 2.5mm) Optomec system printing antenna array
Flexible Patch Antenna Array Model developed to predict performance of patch antenna array as a function of bending Joint RTN-UML publication Antennas printed on Kapton Experimental characterization in progress Design and Analysis of 16 GHz Cylindrical Conformal 1x2 Microstrip Patch Antenna Array, Lal Mohan Bhowmik, Craig A. Armiento, William Miniscalco Jagannath Chirravuri, Christopher McCarroll and Alkim Akyurtlu, 2013 Phased Array Radar Conference, Waltham, MA,
Printed Metamaterials for Frequency Selective Surfaces (FSS) Goal: Use Metamaterial concepts to tailor the electromagnetic behavior of devices such as a Frequency Selective Surface (FSS) or antenna. Metamaterials are made up of periodic arrays of metallic resonant elements. Both the size of the element and the unit cell are small relative to the wavelength. A FSS designed to reflect, transmit or absorb electromagnetic fields at specific frequencies. Two-sided FSS design with coupling capacitors between unit cells Printed FSS FSS Frequency of operation can be changed by changing capacitance value using different dielectrics. Tunability possible by use of ferroelectrics inks.
Greek Theatre Metasurface Antenna Design Simulation Print
CNT Transistor: Bottom Gate Design CNT network CNT network Al 2 O 3 Ag Nanoink
Improvements for CNT Transistors Current Printed Transistors Random CNT network 200 mm Source-Drain (S-D) spacing Future Transistors Aligned CNT network CNTs span S-D 10 mm S-D spacing Use techniques for CNT Alignment Work with vendors to develop better CNT inks (semiconducting)
Hybrid Chip Integration Printed conductive traces may provide an alternative to conventional wire bonding Could be important for microwave applications - controlled impedance up to the chip bonding pad 23
Packaging Applications Using Aerosol Jet: Stacked Die Interconnects Printed interconnects between stacked die Courtesy of Optomec Inc. 24
Packaging Applications Using Aerosol Jet: Printed Resistors Printed High Tolerance (<5%) Resistors Courtesy of Optomec Inc. 25
3D Printing with Hybrid Chip Integration Vivaldi Antenna Array LNA electronics Printed conductive trace on 3D-printed surface Surfaces not flat enough for fine conductive traces Using 3D printer to create physical structure of antenna array Developing selective approaches for patterning metal on array Developing Chip attach and printed interconnect on ABS Funded by Phase 1 of an STTR (with SI2 Technologies & RTN) Need better surface finish to integrate electronics Need conductive plastic filament materials for conductive vias 26
Summary: Printed Electronics at UML UML is developing a printed electronics capability with a focus on DoD applications in the RF/microwave domain PE research will be done in partnership with corporate partners such as Raytheon in RURI UML is developing the supply chain for PE in the defense cluster with PERC leveraging a match from the state of Massachusetts. PERC will enable teaming between companies to pursue federal funding opportunities PE Research at UML will exploit unique campus capabilities in nanomanufacturing and control of plastic films for substrates
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