Proceedings Article | 19 September 2017
KEYWORDS: Electronics, Inkjet technology, Sensors, Printing, Organic electronics, Transistors, Flexible circuits, Ionizing radiation, Sensing systems, Data storage
Organic electronics has been thoroughly investigated as technology for the fabrication of flexible devices enabling a wide range of applications including disposable electronics, smart cards, flexible displas, wearable electronics and sensors. However, in order to make such technology suitable for real applications, reliable, cost efficient approaches for large area fabrication, such as inkjet printing, have to be properly optimized. Moreover, in order to increase the final system portability, and as a consequence, its application range, such devices must be also operated at relatively low voltages.
In this work we present the different solutions we have developed for the routinely fabrication of inkjet printed organic transistors, operating a very low voltages and we report about their employment in the realization of different kinds of sensor devices for monitoring physical (pressure/temperature) and biochemical (eg. pH and/or DNA) stimuli and/or ionizing radiations.
Moreover, the development of organic electronics systems requires also the integration of such smart sensing systems with reliable data storage devices. Among several possible solutions, we will demonstrate that inkjet printing can be employed for the fabrication of high performing memory devices using different approaches, based on printed transistors and resistive switching elements, and that, such devices, can be easily integrated with electrical sensors for the fabrication of printed, flexible smart tags.