| EPSRC Reference: |
EP/I017569/1 |
| Title: |
From Nanowires to Printed Electronics |
| Principal Investigator: |
Shkunov, Dr M |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Project Partners: |
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| Department: |
ATI Electronics |
| Organisation: |
University of Surrey |
| Scheme: |
First Grant - Revised 2009 |
| Starts: |
01 December 2010 |
Ends: |
30 November 2012 |
Value (£): |
100,881
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Electronic Devices & Subsys. |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
| No relevance to Underpinning Sectors |
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| Related Grants: |
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| Panel History: |
| Panel Date | Panel Name | Outcome |
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13 Oct 2010
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ICT Prioritisation Panel (Oct 2010)
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Announced
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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Nanotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that has many potential applications. In time more and more nanotechnological applications are emerging. We are familiar with sun-block creams based around oxide nanoparticles, self cleaning windows with unique surface coatings that break down dirt and more powerful tennis racquet frames containing carbon nanotubes. Computer chips now host insulating layers that are only few atoms thick. Yet, the full potential on nanotechnology is still far from being achieved. Indeed, there is a huge scope for nanoscience to enter our lives. Flexible electronics is one of the areas where it can be realised. So far in the first generation of flexible displays, the switching of the pixels is performed by plastic or organic semiconductor transistors. Due to their intrinsic plasticity, these semiconductors are favoured over traditional rigid single crystal silicon technology. Despite significant effort in organic electronic research, plastic transistors are slow and struggle to perform in circuits and also in current - driven applications.One of the ways to overcome this problem is to use solution processable inorganic semiconducting nanowires formulated into functional inks. These inks could be deposited by simple solution-coating methods onto flexible plastic substrates to produce semiconducting layers for electronic devices. The main goal of the proposed project is to demonstrate feasibility of printable high performance flexible electronic devices, such as field-effect transistors and simple circuit demonstrators. Successful demonstration of these printable devices is expected to make a breakthrough in novel electronic applications including high resolution flexible displays, RFIDs, integrated display drivers, chemical and biological sensors, nano-scale photodetectors, printable lasers and solar cells. In medical applications, ordered arrays of nanowires can be integrated into pace makers to generate electricity from muscle movements and thus eliminate the need for replaceable batteries. The printing approach will open up possibilities for fast prototyping of custom-made circuits that could be directly ink-jet-printed from a computer design layout onto lightweight and flexible substrates.There are endless possibilities for the research in printable nanomaterials and devices, extending to the areas of environment monitoring, health care and energy generation.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.surrey.ac.uk |