Recent Advances in Functional Materials and 2D/3D Processing for Sensors and Electronic Applications: Printed Electronics Advances
Sponsored by: TMS Functional Materials Division, TMS: Thin Films and Interfaces Committee
Program Organizers: Pooran Joshi, Elbit Systems of America; Ravindra Nuggehalli, New Jersey Institute of Technology; Anming Hu, University of Tennessee; Tolga Aytug, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Konstantinos Sierros, West Virginia University; Yong Lin Kong, University of Utah; Parans Paranthaman, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Monday 8:00 AM
February 24, 2020
Room: Carlsbad
Location: Marriott Marquis Hotel
Session Chair: Pooran Joshi, Oak Ridge National Laboratory; Ravindra Nuggehalli, New Jersey Institute of Technology
8:00 AM Invited
Aerosol Jet 3D Printed Sensors: Rahul Panat1; Md. Taibur Rahman1; Matthew Schrandt2; Michael Renn2; Chintalapalle Ramana3; 1Carnegie Mellon University; 2Optomec Inc.; 3University of Texas at El Paso
In this work, we demonstrate the fabrication of sensor films using aerosol jet 3D nanoparticle printing. Various types of sensors such as strain, temperature, gas, and touch sensors are demonstrated. Due to the sintering porosity of the films, the strain sensors showed higher gauge factor and were tolerant to mechanical deformation, which enhanced their reliability during operation. In addition, we also demonstrated low-power laser sintering to fabricate Cu-CuNi films under a shroud of inert gas on a polymer substrate. Detailed microstructural studies using SEM, TEM, and SAED were carried out to understand the behavior of such sensors. Cyclic bending and twisting tests also show minimal degradation of performance of such sensors. The work demonstrates that printed electronics leads to new possibilities in fabricating advanced sensors.
8:25 AM
Direct Ink Writing of Soft Robotics with Embedded Sensors: Domenic Cipollone1; Derek Doyle2; Konstantinos Sierros1; 1West Virginia University; 2Air Force Research Laboratory
Soft robotics have garnered significant attention over the past few years due to their high conformability, inherent compliance, and ability to perform delicate tasks. Typically, these robots are unaware of their environment and surroundings. Paramount to the development of intelligent, adaptable soft robotics is the inclusion of embedded sensing elements. Notably, the advent of 3D printing, specifically direct ink writing, allows for the facile, one-step manufacturing of both the elastomeric soft robot structure and the embedded circuitry and sensing elements.In this work, we report on the fabrication of soft robotic actuators via direct ink writing, coupled with the printing of embedded sensors and circuitry. GE silicone, an inexpensive silicone elastomer, is used to fabricate the soft robotic body, enabling room temperature direct writing with no post processing. Simultaneously, silver elastomeric conductive ink is synthesized and tailored, enabling compatibility with the soft robotic component and direct writing process.
8:45 AM Invited
Multiscale Additive Manufacturing of Biomedical Electronics: Yong Lin Kong1; 1University of Utah
A seamless integration of biomedical devices with a human body could enable a myriad of exciting applications in the field of diagnostic, drug-delivery and smart prosthetics. Indeed, the ability to impart active functionalities such as advanced sensing, computation and drug delivery through biomedical devices could restore or even augment the complex functionalities of a naturally evolved biological system. Yet, such integration is inherently challenging due to the geometrical, mechanical and material dichotomies between conventional biomedical devices and the human body. My research group focuses on the development of additive manufacturing technologies to create multifunctional structures and electronics devices. As an example, here we demonstrate an approach to prolong the gastric residence of wireless electronics to weeks via multimaterial three-dimensional design and fabrication. Ultimately, the ability to create a multi-functional ingestible gastric resident electronics could enable a surgical-free integration of wireless medical devices with the human body.
9:10 AM Invited
Evaluating Electro-mechanical Reliability of Polymer Supported Films Using In-situ Methods: Megan Cordill1; 1Erich Schmid Institute
Electrical, mechanical and interfacial properties of thin metal films on compliant polymer substrates are important to understand in order to design reliable flexible electronic devices. Thin films of Cu and Au on polyimide and polyethylene terephthalate substrates were examined for their use as interconnects in flexible electronic devices. Using in-situ tensile straining with atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) mechanical and interfacial behavior can be examined. AFM and CLSM can provide information about crack spacing and film delamination, while XRD experiments are utilized to determine the lattice strains and stresses present in the films. If these in-situ techniques are combined with in-situ 4-point-probe (4PP) resistance measurements, the influence of the mechanical damage on the electrical properties can be correlated. Mechanisms behind film fracture and deformation as well as methods to measure the adhesion of metal-polymer interfaces will be discussed
9:35 AM Break
9:55 AM Invited
Towards the Next Generation of 3D Printable Energy Storage Devices: Konstantinos Sierros1; 1West Virginia University
There is currently a burgeoning interest in 3D printed energy storage structures and devices. This is because of the ability to tailor the printable multifunctional materials (or inks) to achieve significant device performance levels while taking advantage of the design freedom that 3D printing offers. In this talk we will discuss our latest work in the area of 3D printable energy storage devices. In particular, studies about formulation of metal particle-based inks for direct writing (i.e. pneumatic extrusion at room temperature), their rheological and printing properties will be discussed. In addition, cell device performance studies for different architectures will be presented. It is believed that 3D printing may hold the key for developing next generation energy storage.
10:20 AM Invited
Multi-material Additive Manufacturing of Ionomeric Polymer Membranes with 3D Topologies: Kwang Kim1; Zakai Olsen1; 1University of Nevada, Las Vegas
In recent years the development of soft-robotics has focused heavily on electroactive polymer (EAP) sensors/actuators, ionic polymer-metal composites (IPMCs) being one of interest. The ionomeric membranes core to the structure of IPMC sensors/actuators have traditionally been fabricated from planar sheets of material from industry manufacturers, but in recent years the additive manufacturing of ionomeric precursor has been demonstrated and lead to numerous advances in actuator geometry. Currently, the additively manufactured membranes have all been made with a uniform footprint geometry that has been extruded in the normal direction, and hence only demonstrate complex geometry in one plane. Utilizing the multi-material capabilities of 3D printers, new ionomeric membranes are explored which feature 3D topologies and have complex geometry in more than one plane.
10:45 AM
Electric Field Assisted Ultra-Fast R2R Printing Technology for High-Performance Skin-like Smart Sensors: Ying Zhong1; Long Wang2; Rui Kou2; 1University of South Florida; 2University of California at San Diego
Flexible skin-like sensors are essential for future human health monitoring and therapeutic treatment. Organic additives are often mixed into the functional components to offer the flexibility of the printed flexible sensors. However, the time-consuming drying process of those additives is the major hinder for the low cost and fast R2R printing of flexible sensors. We present a new R2R printing technology by taking advantage of the "induction induced absorption" behavior of dry powders in strong electric field. Dry graphene, CNT, silver nanowire, and many kinds functional powders can be printed. The printing speed can reach as high as 50 cm2/s. The specially printed and naturally formed 3D structure offered high flexibility and sensitivity, allowing our skin-like sensors able to detect sound in frequency as high as hundreds of hertz with high repeatability and reliability. This technology opens the new door for fast and low-cost high-performance flexible sensor processing.
11:05 AM Invited
Understanding 3D-printing Processes through Operando X-ray Photon Correlation Spectroscopy: Maria Torres Arango1; Yugang Zhang1; Gregory Doerk2; Ruipeng Li1; Chonghang Zhao3; Yu-chen Karen Chen-Wiegart4; Andrei Fluerasu1; Lutz Wiegart1; 1National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory; 2Center for Functional Nanomaterials, Brookhaven National Laboratory; 3Stony Brook University; 4National Synchrotron Light Source II, Brookhaven National Laboratory. Stony Brook University.
Understanding fundamentals governing materials processing-properties relationships is neuralgic towards realizing functional materials for printed electronics, acknowledging the deposition methods’ influence, inducing anisotropy and material gradients. For extrusion-based direct ink writing, the out-of-equilibrium processing stages may include extrusion, relaxation, drying and curing and are pivotal since they affect the materials defect-development across multiple length scales, and ultimately materials properties. We perform operando x-ray photon correlation spectroscopy (XPCS) studies of colloidal viscoelastic systems during extrusion-based 3D printing, at the National Synchrotron Light Source II, Coherent Hard X-Ray 11-ID beamline, along with ex-situ rheology and microscopy. We investigate the inks’ nanoscale structure and dynamic evolution in relation to spatial positioning within the printed filament, inks/substrate interactions, colloid structure and re-arrangement, and solvent properties/evacuation; identifying key composition-processing-properties dependences. We expect our work to shed light on fundamentals governing 3D printing processes, furthering the understanding of materials self-assembly towards engineering novel materials with unprecedented performance.