Wearable temperature sensors are becoming increasingly important for continuous health monitoring, personalized healthcare, and biointegrated electronic systems. However, conventional temperature-sensing platforms often suffer from limited thermal sensitivity, insufficient mechanical compliance, and unstable performance under repeated deformation, making it difficult to detect subtle physiological temperature variations in real time. Here, this tutorial status report presents a fabrication strategy for highly sensitive wearable temperature sensors based on gold-doped crystalline silicon nanomembranes. Gold diffusion into crystalline silicon introduces deep-level impurity states that modulate the Fermi level and shift the freeze-out region toward the physiological temperature range, enabling an ultrahigh negative temperature coefficient of resistance. By integrating the gold-doped silicon nanomembrane with a polyimide-supported ultrathin platform, neutral mechanical plane design, and serpentine mesh interconnects, the resulting device can provide high thermal sensitivity, fast response, conformal skin attachment, and stable operation under mechanical deformation. This fabrication approach is expected to broaden the use of impurity-engineered silicon nanomembranes in next-generation wearable sensors, flexible bioelectronics, and multifunctional healthcare monitoring systems.
The expansion of smart healthcare and wearable electronics has intensified the need for fabric-based sensors that integrate conformally with the human body for continuous bio signal monitoring. However, the heavy reliance of conventional devices on external batteries remains a major obstacle to commercialization, necessitating the development of flexible piezoelectric energy harvesters that convert biomechanical energy into sustainable power. Here, we present a highly flexible and wearable piezoelectric energy harvester (PEH) fabricated by a screen-printing of BaTiO3 nanoparticlePDMS composites onto a fabric substrate. An optimized piezo-ceramic filler concentration of 70 wt% yielded a peak output voltage of 0.52 V and a current of 40 nA under the mechanical bending deformations. The fabricated PEH demonstrated exceptional mechanical and electrical stability, showing no performance degradation of over 5,000 repetitive bending cycles. These results indicate that a PEH can function as a stable self-powered source within complex clothing environments, offering a promising pathway for next-generation autonomous wearable sensor systems.
Flexible and wearable electronics, which require stable operation under mechanical deformation, are increasingly utilizing Eutectic Gallium-Indium (EGaIn) for their conductive components. This study presents a systematic approach to fabricating highly reliable, deformable electrodes via a direct-ink-writing (DIW) 3D printing process using EGaIn as the functional ink. We conducted a thorough optimization of key printing parameters, specifically the extrusion pressure and printing speed, to achieve stable and uniform conductive lines. Through this optimization, we successfully established an optimal process window, achieving a stable line width of approximately 130 μm at an extrusion pressure of 300 kPa and a printing speed of 16 mm/s. The fabricated flexible electrodes exhibited exceptional electromechanical stability, maintaining negligible resistance change (< 0.82%) both under severe bending (3 mm radius) and after 100 repetitive bending cycles. This work demonstrates that the 3D printing of EGaIn is a viable and effective method for creating robust, high-performance electrodes for the next generation of deformable and wearable electronic devices.
Nozzle-printing dispensers, which utilize air pulsation as a dispensing principle, operate by transmitting air pressure to the liquid to push a constant amount of liquid. Nozzle printers have the advantage of precisely controlling energy based on liquid properties, such as viscosity and surface tension, enabling the precise application of liquid at specific locations and quantities. This study introduces a printing process sequence using a nozzle printer equipped with a high-resolution vision alignment system. It compares printing patterns according to key process variables (jet pressure, tip height, and travel speed) that affect coating quality. Experimental results showed that a coating standard deviation of 2.14 μm was achieved at a moving speed of 20 mm/s and a nozzle height of 0.2 mm, resulting in the most stable and uniform coating quality. Through these experiments, optimal conditions were identified based on factors such as coating width, uniformity, and presence of discontinuity, and the effects of these conditions on the precision manufacturing process are discussed.
Conductive inks are essential for developing flexible and wearable electronic devices, where printability and electrical performance must be finely balanced. However, achieving high conductivity while minimizing costly silver filler content remains a key challenge in ink formulation. In this work, we demonstrate that a simple ball-milling process transforms spherical silver particles into platelet-shaped fillers, dramatically enhancing conductivity at equivalent filler loading. The resulting inks show a reduction in sheet resistance from ~180 Ω/□ to ~ 0.57 Ω/□ at 70 wt% filler content, with improved performance attributed to surface-to-surface contact between platelets. Moreover, we show that filler content influences not only electrical conductivity but also ink viscosity, with the 53.8 wt% formulation achieving a practical balance between conductivity, processability, and cost. This morphology- and composition-controlled ink design offers a scalable strategy for manufacturing high-performance, cost-effective conductive inks suitable for next-generation printed electronics.
The printed and bifacial organic photovoltaics (OPVs) using a semi-transparent electrode structure to enhance light management were investigated. To optimize energy-band alignment for bifacial device structure, a cathode interlayer of ZnO nanoparticles with a low work function of 3.9 eV combined with a polyethyleneimine (PEI) layer was employed. Photon distribution simulations revealed the influence of structural parameters on device conductivity, light absorption, and surface morphology. The dispensing strength, adjusted via applied voltage during printing, significantly impacted device performance. At 13 V and 17 V, J-V characteristics were consistent; however, at 20 V, line width increased by approximately 100%, resulting in a 50% reduction in PCE. These findings highlight the critical relationship between spraying strength, line width, and efficiency, offering valuable insights for advancing printed OPV technologies.
Recently, as environmental issues caused by gas stoves have led to the widespread adoption of induction appliances, specialized cookware for induction is essential. However, due to the inability of ceramic containers to be directly used on induction cooktops, a conductive coating is required on the bottom of the cookware, presenting limitations such as complex deposition processes and extended coating times in existing methods including thermal spraying, dip coating, and transcription method. We confirmed the potential of heat-resistant cookware for induction use by coating the bottom of the ceramic container with Ag through a simple manufacturing process of screen-printing and measuring its thermal conductivity and reliability. The Ag-coated ceramic cookware produced by screen-printing demonstrated similar thermal conductivity and reliability to those made using the traditional method of transfer printing. In addition, the adhesive strength before and after thermal shock testing was even superior in the screen-printing method, which suggests a higher expected lifespan. As a result, it is expected that induction-compatible heat-resistant ceramic containers with excellent performance and lifespan will be manufactured through the screen-printing process, which is more cost-effective and efficient compared to other methods.
Micro light-emitting diodes (μLEDs) have been utilized in various fields such as displays, and smart devices, due to their superior stabilities. Since the applications of the μLEDs have been extended to medical devices and wearable sensors, excellent optical properties and uniformity of the μLEDs are important. Hence, several researchers have investigated to enhance the optical efficiency of the μLEDs through micro/nano lens. However, the reported methods for realizing the micro/nano lens have some drawbacks such as complex and high-cost manufacturing processes. Herein, we developed μLEDs with 3D-printed hydrogel microlenses. The printed hydrogel had high transparency and excellent adhesive strength, allowing it to attach onto top surface of the μLEDs without any additional adhesives. Microscale printing technology using a 3D printer achieved quick and fine printing in desired shapes and arrangements, showing the possibility of mass production. The 3D-printed microlens can be applied to improve not only the optical properties of μLEDs but also other optical devices.
The Microplotter system with a fluid dispensing method, sprays fluid based on ultrasonic pumping through piezoelectric devices. This technique can possible for various materials with a wide range of viscosities to be printed in microscale. In this paper, we introduces dispenser printing technology as well as aim to understand and apply various processes using the equipment. In addition, we will explain how to optimize the equipment by adjusting parameters such as spray intensity, tip height during printing, and patterning speed. By utilizing Microplotter’s advantage of being compatible with a wide range of fluids, including metal nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, DNA, and proteins, it is expected to be used in various fields such as printed electronics, biotechnology, and chemical engineering.
Heaters using the resistance heating principle are used in various industrial fields that require heat and are also essentially used in bidet among small home appliances. A planar heater and a coil-inserted heater mounted on a conventional commercially used bidet have disadvantages and limitations of complicated manufacturing process and local heating. In this study, silver-palladium (Ag-Pd) powder material was used for a screen-printing process that is more advantageous in achieving simplification than the existing process, and a rod-type heater for bidet was manufactured. The on-off cycle test under actual conditions was conducted to confirm the durability and the capability of the fabricated heater, and the fabricated heater operated more than 2,600 on-off cycles, which means it could be applied for a commercial product. In addition, through the on-off cycles under harsh conditions, the cause of failure was identified after the test that the durability limit temperature of the heater was 850℃. Through Ag-Pd rod heater in this study, it is expected to contribute to the efficient development of electrode materials for heaters and the improvement of the durability of heaters in the future.
Color conversion layer refers to a layer that converts the blue light emitted from the backlight into the red and green light. Heavy metal-free quantum dots and perovskite nanocrystals have attracted great attention as base materials for color conversion layers due to their outstanding optical characteristics. Here, we review recent advances in the development of color conversion layers based on quantum dots. First, we overview the representative optical characteristics of quantum dots and perovskite nanocrystals, and then introduce printing techniques for color converting layers including photolithography, inkjet printing, and nanoimprinting. Finally, we conclude this review with a brief perspective.
BaTiO3 is one of the ferroelectric materials with excellent dielectric properties such as high dielectric constant, low dielectric loss, and is widely used for the manufacturing of capacitors, piezoelectric converters, microsensors, and ferroelectric memories. Inkjet printing is a technology which uses digital and contactless methods which significantly improves flexibility associated with material and structural design, reducing manufacturing costs. Therefore, the top and bottom electrodes, BaTiO3 ink, and photocurable resin were all printed by an inkjet to produce a BaTiO3 capacitor. The properties of the printed thin film were analyzed. It was confirmed that the photocurable resin ink was well-infiltrated between the BaTiO3 powder particles printed by inkjet. The dielectric properties of the capacitor such as dielectric constant which varies in accordance with frequency, polarization and tunability that changes with voltage, were measured.
Electrohydrodynamic jet (e-jet) printing, a type of direct contactless microfabrication technology, is a versatile fabrication process that enables a wide range of micro/nanopattern arrays by applying a strong electric field between the nozzle and the substrate. In general, the morphology and the thickness of polymers/quantum dot micropatterns show a systematic dependence on the diameter of the nozzle and the ink composition with a fully automated printing machine. The purpose of this report is to provide typical examples of e-jet printed micropatterns of polymers/quantum dots to explain the effect of each process variable on the result of experiments. Here, we demonstrate several operating conditions that allow high-resolution printing of layers of polymers/quantum dots with a precise control over thickness and submicron lateral resolution.
For the past several decades, various next-generation patterning methods have been developed to obtain well-designed nano-to-micro structures, such as imprint lithography, nanotransfer printing (nTP), directed self-assembly (DSA), E-beam lithography, and so on. Especially, nTP process has much attention due to its low processing cost, short processing time, and good compatibility with other patterning techniques in achieving the formation of high-resolution functional patterns. To transfer functional patterns onto desirable substrates, the use of soft materials is required for precise replication of master mold. Here, we introduce a simple and practical nTP method to create highly ordered structures using various polymeric replica materials. We found that polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polystyrene (PS), and polyvinylpyridine (PVP) are possible candidates for replica materials for reliable duplication of Si master mold based on systematic analysis of pattern visualization. Furthermore, we successfully obtained well-defined metal and oxide nanostructures with functionality on target substrates by using replica patterns, through deposition and transfer process. We expect that the several candidates of replica materials can be exploited for effective nanofabrication of complex electronic devices.
Heterolayered K(Ta,Nb)O3/Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 thin films on Pt/Ti/SiO2/Si substrates were prepared by a sol-gel process and spin-coating method. The structural and electrical properties were measured to investigate the possibility of application as an electrocaloric effect device. All specimens exhibited dense and uniform cross-sectional structures without pores, and the average thickness of the specimen coated six times was approximately 394 nm. Curie temperatures were observed at 5℃ or less in type-Ⅰ and 10℃ in type-Ⅱ specimens, respectively. Type-Ⅱ specimens coated 6 times showed a relative dielectric constant of 758 and remanent polarization of 9.71 μC/cm2 at room temperature. The maximum electrocaloric effect occurred between 20 and 25℃, slightly higher than their Curie temperature, and the electrocaloric property (ΔT) of the type-Ⅱ specimens coated 6 times was approximately 1.2℃ at room temperature.
In this study, image analysis and surface roughness measurements using an optical microscope are presented as a method to quantitatively evaluate the results of screen printing. Using this method, the squeegee speed, which is the printing process condition, and the printability of the electrode according to the screen mesh were evaluated. Increasing the squeegee speed in the printing process acts as a process element that increases the line width precision of the printed electrode and lowers the surface roughness of the printed surface. Furthermore, the edge roughness, which indicates the clarity of printing, was not significantly affected by the speed of the squeegee during printing. The print thickness increases in proportion to the squeegee speed, but is largely dependent on the screen thickness.
We investigated a solution-driven Yttrium Tin Oxide (YSnO) film that was imprinted using a parallel nanostructure as a liquid crystal (LC) alignment layer. The imprinting process was conducted at the annealing temperature of 100℃. To evaluate the effect of this process, we conducted surface analyses including atomic force microscopy (AFM). During imprinting, the surface roughness was reduced, and anisotropic characteristics were observed. Planar LC alignment was observed at a pretilt angle of 0.22° on YSnO film. Surface anisotropy induced by imprinting method forces LC to align along the direction of the parallel nanostructure, which is an alternative to conventional polyimide treated using a rubbing process.
We demonstrate an alignment technology using an imprinting process on an inorganic NiOx film. The aligned nanopattern was fabricated on a silicon wafer by laser interference lithography. The aligned nano pattern was then imprinted onto the sol-gel driven NiOx film using an imprinting process at an annealing temperature of 150℃. After the imprinting process, parallel grooves had been formed on the NiOx film. Atomic force microscopy and water contact angle measurements were performed to confirm the parallel groove on the NiOx film. The grooves caused liquid crystal alignment through geometric restriction, similar to grooves formed by the rubbing process on polyimide. The liquid crystal cell exhibited a pretilt angle of 0.2°, which demonstrated homogeneous alignment.
We fabricated a printed Ag:CNT film as a liquid sensor for the detection of HNS (hazardous and noxious substances) in seawater. The paste required for printing was prepared using Ag powder, MWCNTs (multi-walled carbon nanotubes), and an organic binder. The heat treatment process for binder removal was optimized. In order to confirm that the sensor was operational, the resistance change characteristics in brine (3.5%) and methanol (99.8%) were assessed at 20℃. EDL (electrical double layer) formation and redox reactivity were confirmed as the most important reactions affect each electrical property of sensor in brine and methanol. From these results, it was determined that printed Ag:CNT film can be applied as a sensor to detect HNS in seawater.
This study discusses and demonstrates the structural stability of highly ordered Pt patterns formed on a transparent and flexible substrate through the process of nanotransfer printing (nTP). Bending tests comprising approximately 1,000 cycles were conducted for observing Pt line patterns with a width of 1 μm formed along the direction of the horizontal (x-axis) and vertical (y-axis) axes (15 mm × 15 mm); and adhesion tests were performed with an ultrasonicator for a period greater than ten minutes, to analyze the Pt crossbar patterns. The durability of both types of patterns was systematically analyzed by employing various microscopes. The results show that the Pt line and Pt crossbar patterns obtained through nTP are structurally stable and do not exhibit any cracks, breaks, or damages. These results corroborate that nTP is a promising nanotechnology that can be applied to flexible electronic devices. Furthermore, the multiple patterns obtained through nTP can improve the working performance of flexible devices by providing excellent structural stability.
A piezoelectric cantilever energy harvester (PCEH) driven in longitudinal (3-3) vibration mode was fabricated, and its electrical properties were evaluated by varying the resistive load. A commercial PZT piezoelectric ceramic with a high piezoelectric charge constant (d33) of 520 pC/N and the interdigitated (IDT) electrode pattern was used to fabricate the PCEH driven in longitudinal vibration. The IDT Ag electrode embedded piezoelectric laminates were co-fired at 850℃ for 2 h. The 3-3 mode PCEH was successfully fabricated by attaching the piezoelectric laminates to a SUS304 elastic substrate. The PCEH exhibited a high output power of 3.8 mW across the resistive load of 100 kΩ at 100 Hz and 1.5 G. This corresponds to a power density of 10.3 mW/cm3 and a normalized global power factor of 4.56 mW/g2·cm3. Given the other PCEH driven in transverse (3-1) vibration mode, the 3-3 mode PCEH could be better for vibration energy harvesting applications.
Recently, there has been much focus on the controlled alignment and patterning process of nanowires for nanoelectronic devices. A simple and effective method for patterning of highly aligned nanowires using a microcontact printing technique is demonstrated. In this method, nanowires are first directionally aligned by contact printing, following which line and space micropatterns of nanowire arrays are accomplished by microcontact printing with a micro patterned NOA mold.
Min-seon Lee, Chang-il Kim, Ji-sun Yun, Woon Ik Park, Youn-woo Hong, Jong Hoo Paik, Jeong Ho Cho, Yong-ho Park, Yong-ho Jang, Beom-jin Choi, Young-hun Jeong
J Electr Electron Mater 2016;29(9):581-588. Published online September 1, 2016
Piezoelectric thick films of a soft Pb(Zr,Ti)O3 (PZT) based commercial material were produced by a conventional tape casting method. Thereafter, the interdigitated (IDT) Ag-Pd electrode pattern was printed on the 25 ㎛ thick piezoelectric film at room temperature. Co-firing of the 10-layer laminated piezoelectric thick films was conducted at 1,100℃ and 1,150℃ for 1 h, respectively. Piezoelectric cantilever energy harvesters were successfully fabricated using the IDT electrode pattern embedded piezoelectric laminates for 3-3 operation mode. Their energy harvesting characteristics were investigated with an excitation of 120 Hz and 1 g under various resistive loads (ranging from 10 kΩ to 200 kΩ). A parabolic increase of voltage and a linear decrease of current were shown with an increase of resistive load for all the energy harvesters. In particular, a high output power of 3.64 mW at 100 kΩ was obtained from the energy harvester (sintered at 1,150℃).
n-type silicon shows the better tolerance towards metal impurities with a higher minority carrier lifetime compared to p-type silicon substrate. Due to better lifetime stability as compared to p-type during illumination made the photovoltaic community to switch toward n-type wafers for high efficiency silicon solar cells. We fabricated the front electrode of the n-type solar cell with AgAl paste. The electrodes characteristics of the AgAl paste depend on the contact junction depth that is closely related to the firing temperature. Metal contact depth with p+ emitter, with optimized depth is important as it influence the resistance. In this study, we optimize the firing condition for the effective formation of the metal depth by varying the firing condition. The firing was carried out at temperatures below 670℃ with low contact depth and high contact resistance. It was noted that the contact resistance was reduced with the increase of firing temperature. The contact resistance of 5.99 mΩ㎠ was shown for the optimum firing temperature of 865℃. Over 900℃, contact junction is bonded to the Si through the emitter, resulting the contact resistance to shunt. we obtained photovoltaic parameter such as fill factor of 76.68%, short-circuit current of 40.2 mA/cm2, open-circuit voltage of 620 mV and convert efficiency of 19.11%.
Ni ink for electrohydrodynamic (EHD) continuous jet printing has been developed by using Ni nanoparticles mixed with conhesiveness provider. EHD continuous jet printing was used in order to realize 20 μm pattern width. Ink stability was investigated by using Turbi-scan which monitors agglomeration and precipitation of nanoparticles in the ink for three days. The Turbi-scan results showed that the formulated Ni ink had been stable for 3 days without any indication of precipitation across the entire ink. Antireflection coating (ARC) layer in crystalline solar cell wafers was removed by laser ablation technique leading to the formation of 84 grooves where the Ni ink was printed by EHD continuous jet printing. The printability and microstructure of EHD-jet-printed Ni lines were investigated by using optical and electron microscopes. 84 Ni lines with the width less than 20 μm were successfully printed by one-time printing without any misalignment and fill the laser-ablated ARC grooves.
For the semiconductor device safety from over current in the digital electronic circuit systemmust be surely designed that it`s surface mount type micro fuse device. In this paper, We has analysedto the fusing character of micro fuse as a function changed thickness of thermosetting ink epoxy. To thechange of thermosetting ink epoxy thickness with in production lot, in the electrically character (fusingtest in the 2 multiple over current and 10 multiple over current, surface temperature test in the 1.25multiple over current) of micro fuse has been tested. According to the electrically character result,changed thickness of thermosetting ink epoxy in designed micro fuse withheld direct effect in both endresistance changes. Also, because high thermal energy in the micro fuse test of over current wasoccurred to effect such as thermal runaway and explosion. Therefore, screen printing process in thedesign of micro fuse using thermosetting ink epoxy is very important for production quality improvement.
The screen printed technique is one of the electrode forming technologies for crystalline silicon solar cell. It has the advantage that can raise the production efficiency due to simple process. The electrode technology is the core process because the electrode feature is given a substantial factor (for solar cell efficiency). In this paper, we tried to change conditions such as squeegee angle 55∼75°, snap off 0.5∼1.75mm, printing pressure 0.6∼0.3 MPa and 1.6∼2.0 mm finger spacing. As a result, the screen printing process showed an improved performance with an increased height higher finger height. Optimization of fabrication process has achieved 17.48% efficiency at screen mesh of 1.6 mm finger spacing.
We give a textured front on silicon wafer for high-efficiency solar cells by using micro contact printing method which uses PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane) silicon rubber as a stamp and SAM (self assembled monolayer)s as an ink. A random pyramidal texturing have been widely used for a front-surface texturing in low cost manufacturing line although the cell with random pyramids on front surface shows relatively low efficiency than the cell with inverted pyramids patterned by normal optical lithography. In the past two decades,the micro contact printing has been intensively studied in nano technology field for high resolution patterns on silicon wafer. However, this promising printing technique has surprisingly never applied so far to silicon based solar cell industry despite their simplicity of process and attractive aspects in terms of cost competitiveness. We employ a MHA (16-mercaptohexadecanoic acid) as an ink for Au deposited SiO2/Si substrate. The SiO2 pattern which is same as the pattern printed by SAM ink on Au surface and later acts as a hard resist for anisotropic silicon etching was made by HF solution, and then inverted pyramidal pattern is formed after anisotropic wet etching. We compare three textured surface with different morphology (random texture, random pyramids and inverted pyramids) and then different geometry of inverted pyramid arrays in terms of reflectivity.
In this paper, we analyzed the effects of doctoring process on the patterns of Ag in gravure off-set printing. The parameters of doctoring process were the angle and the pressure, which was represented by the depth of movement to the gravure roll, of doctor blade to the surface of gravure roll, and the angle of patterns engraved on the gravure roll to doctor blade moving direction. The proper parameters were extracted for the fine patterns and they were 15 mm for the pressure, 60° for the blade angle. And the angle of patterns with respect to blade movement should be less than 40° for the best results. The gravure off-set printing with the above parameters was carried out print gate electrodes and scan bus lines of OTFT-backplane for e-paper. The line width of 50㎛ was successfully obtained. The thickness of electrodes was 2.5㎛and the surface roughness was 0.65㎛ and sheet resistance was 15.8 Ω/□.
In this paper, we analyzed the effects of the number of TIPS-pentacene droplets and also the substrate temperature on the performance of OTFTs As the number of the droplets increased, the mobility increased and reached the perk value and then reduced at all temperatures. The peak mobility was 0.14 ± 0.03 cm²/V sec at 3 droplets and 41℃, 0.19 ± 0.02 cm²/V.sec at 4 droplets and 46℃,and 0.35 ± 0.10 cm²/V sec at 7 droplets and 51℃. The reason of existence of peak mobility can be found in matching the evaporation of solvent with the velocity of crystal formation. When two parameters were properly matched, the mobility produced the highest.
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