Descripción del proyecto
The aim of the PREPRINT project is to obtain the much-needed improvement in terms of resolution of materials printers, in order to achieve the far-reaching goal of fabricating integrated circuits with Large Scale of Integration (LSI, i.e., thousands of transistors, the same level of integration of the first INTEL microprocessors) in printed electronic systems on wearable/flexible substrates.
The number of transistors on a substrate is mainly determined by the resolution of the printing machines, which, today, is at most of the order of tens of micrometres. The PI has successfully demonstrated within the PEP2D project (Contract No. 770047) that printed devices and simple circuits on flexible substrate as paper can be obtained with outstanding performance, while leveraging the exceptional electrical and mechanical properties of two-dimensional materials. Being able to pack thousands of these devices on the same substrate would path the way towards the realization of systems with improved performance and capabilities, while unleashing the full potential of printable and flexible electronics on a wide range of applications (from bio, to smart patches, anticounterfeiting, lab-on-a-chip, just to cite few).
A step-forward in this direction has already been done by the PI through the demonstration of a material printer prototype with resolutions better (i.e., few micrometres) than those available in the market.
Within the PREPRINT project, the technical and economic viability of obtaining printing resolution smaller than 1 micrometre will be explored: it is our belief that such a goal is at reach, while boosting the performance of the fabricated prototype, which will allow us to compete and early enter the fast-growing market of printable electronics and material printers.