Polytronics: Seminar

Abstract of Polytronics

For many years plastics were well known merely as INSULATORS and were used predominantly for shielding copper wires. Now the emerging new technology Polytronics, changes our viewpoint in visualizing the conducting polymers as a material of MICROELECTRONICS. Microelectronics technology in conjunction with silicon is flexible enough to easy rolling up of circuits that consume less power and above all they can be manufactured at a fraction of cost involved in making semiconductor chips. This technology has number of upcoming areas of interest where lot of research is going on to manufacture microelectronic components on plastic substrates which would allow manufacturing of gadgets through just printing process. In this paper I would like to impart my ideas on INKJET PRINTING TECHNOLOGY which plays main role in printing polymer circuits, ELECTRONIC PAPER, construction and manufacturing of Plastic batteries, medicinal applications of Polytronics using RUBBER CIRCUITS and ELECTRO ACTIVE POLYMER and ORGANIC LED (OLED). If this technology emerges practically, the world of electronics will take a new leap.

In today’s world of ever-expanding technology, Polytronics is going to change the whole world of consumer electronics and form the principal root for the major advancement in the design of electronic circuits and manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCB).The era of polymer electronics has taken a great start and all the technological companies have turned their entire research towards Polytronics. We hope that, in the forthcoming years Polytronics will accelerate the pace of the technological advancements and describe a new dimension in the near future
Polytronics

Silicon has largely influenced the Electronics industry and would continue to do so over a period of time. However, technologists are now looking at other alternatives, mainly “PLASTIC CIRCUITS”, to meet our future needs. Here is a look into how plastics would influence the world of electronics.
The study of usage of polymeric materials in electronics is termed as “POLYTRONICS”.This polytronics has some advantages over silicon technology. They are
1. Easy Manufacturability (mass production).
2. Low cost.
3. They can be recycled and reused
(decreases environmental stress).
4. Consumes less power.
5. They are mobile, small, and light in weight.
6. They are used to make display devices that have extraordinary picture quality.
The feasibility of developing entire electronic components on basis of polymers is met by “INKJET PRINTING TECHNOLOGY” and is illustrated by several applications such as electronic paper, plastic batteries, etc

Inkjet Printing Technology

The huge cost of manufacturing Silicon microchip is due to the large complex processes involved. Photolithographic techniques are used to pattern wafers with microcircuit, which is grown in powerful vacuum, while the wafers are baked at temperatures of several hundred centigrades.The INKJET PRINTING TECHNOLOGY provides continuous production line of plastic circuits on plastic substrates and then cut into individual units. The substrates are made of acetate material that is as transparent as vugraph sheets.This printing technology plays a major role in the development of “flat screen” displays

Principle

A piezoelectric material expands when a voltage is passed across it, pressing on a reservoir fluid and sending droplets flying out on to the substrates. Here, the construction of “TOPGATE TRANSISTOR” is explained below .

The water based droplets contain an organic conductor-POLY (3,4- ethylenedioxythiophene) doped with a solution of polystyrene sulphonic acid otherwise known as PEDOT/PSS.As the droplets dry they become a conducting layer and form source and drain of a transistor. They are then coated with a layer of semiconducting polymer (9, 9-dioctyl flourene-co-bithiophene) followed by a dielectric layer of polyvinylphenol.Finally gate is printed, creating a so called top gate transistor. How the semiconductor polymer dries is very crucial. The molecular chains must line up in a way that makes it easy for an electron to hop from one chain to another, but the polymers tend to form into disordered microstructure that reduces electron charge.

Resolution of the screen can be improved by coating glass substrate with a hydrophobic film of polyimide pattern. When the water based droplets fall on the surface they are forced away from the hydrophobic regions in the required pattern

Plastic Batteries

Plastic batteries are new type of low power batteries that do not require a case and are thin enough to be printed on a paper. They are of low cost and can be mass produced as the battery material is roughly 0.5 millimeters thick.

Construction:

• The new battery consists of 3 different layers.
• It has conventional zinc manganese dioxide components as anode and cathode which are thin foil-like plastic sheets.
• Electrolyte is a polymer gel placed between electrodes.

Uses: .

• They can be used for incorporating power source in integrated circuits.
• The polymer battery system can be used to power space satellites, giving them uninterrupted power supply by harnessing solar energy.

Conclusion and Future Scope

In today’s world of ever-expanding technology, Polytronics is going to change the whole world of consumer electronics and form the principal root for the major advancement in the design of electronic circuits and manufacture of printed circuit boards (PCB).The era of polymer electronics has taken a great start and all the technological companies have turned their entire research towards Polytronics. So I conclude that, in the forthcoming years Polytronics will accelerate the pace of the technological advancements and describe a new dimension in the near future.

References

1. PC-6: Manual for the Poly-com "6" Transceiver for 6 meters. Compliments of Larry Saletzki, WA9VRH.
2. T.Makimoto and T.T.Doi, “Polytronics – Present and future,” in Tech.Dig.Electronics Technologies Meeting,IEDM’02,2002,pp.9-16