CIENTISTS from UNSW have developed transparent "memory ink" that could have applications for printable electronics.
The new material developed at UNSW can store digital information and be printed onto various surfaces, allowing its use for memory cells in next-generation, large-scale printable electronics.
The material, made from the rare earth mineral cerium oxide, is comprised of tiny cubes that are roughly 10 nanometres thick, or about 10,000 times smaller than the thickness of a sheet of paper.
To make the cerium oxide into printable ink, it is placed in a solution and deposited onto a conductive surface via an ink-jet printer. The nanoscale cubes then self-assemble, firstly into a coordinated square array, before stacking into layers.
Theoretically, more than two trillion cerium oxide cubes could fit into a memory cell configuration the size of a standard postage stamp. This next-generation memory technology would require less voltage, consume less power, while writing and erasing information faster than conventional memory devices.
Professor Sean Li from the UNSW School of Materials Science and Engineering led the team in developing the new material. He says that digital information would be encoded and stored on the nanocube memory cells by applying an electrical current, which changes the cell between a resistive and conductive state.
“Rapid innovations in printing technology over the last few years mean this material could hold enormous potential for a range of future industries," he said.
These new memory cells would have uses in wearable electronics, mobile devices and computers, and a range of other connected devices and products that will come online with the continued expansion of the Internet of Things.
The researchers have demonstrated that the nanocube ink can be jetted from a commercial ink-jet printer onto both silicon and glass surfaces. Because the ink is transparent, which means it can be used directly on screens and displays.
The technology can not only be ink-jet printed, but also potentially be adapted for a range of other high-tech fabrication processes such as aerosol jet printing and roll-to-roll processing.
The technology has been freely licensed to Australian company Strategic Elements through an Easy Access IP deal with the University’s commercialisation unit, UNSW Innovations.
The printed electronics industry is projected to grow to around US$78 billion by 2023.
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