Prize money worth more than A$70,000 will help a researcher from Manchester University’s School of Electronic & Electrical Engineering to push the processing speed of plastic components way beyond what has previously been achieved, through advanced developments in nanotechnology.
Professor Aimin Song is one of eight researchers to receive a 2007 Brian Mercer Feasibility Award, a prestigious award from the Royal Society - the UK's “academy of science”. With support and funding from the UK’s Engineering & Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC), Song has pioneered a way to make single-layered planar plastic transistors and diodes using a fast and simple printing technique. This is a significant development, given that conventional multi-layered transistors made from polymer plastics offer relatively slow conductivity speeds and involve a complex and costly manufacturing process.
Song is now confident he can accelerate the speed of his organic plastic semiconductors to about 100Mhz - way beyond the 20 megahertz (Mhz) he has so far achieved, which itself is a dramatic improvement over past multi-layered transistors made from plastic that have generally worked at kilohertz (KHz) speeds or below.
Plastic components such as semiconductors and diodes could be used to create drivers for flexible displays, radio frequency identification (RFID) tags and intelligent disposable sensors. Professor Song believes this could ultimately lead to the production of information displays that can be rolled up and put into a pocket, and also changeable electronic wallpaper. Other potential applications could include intelligent tickets for public transport systems or road-charging schemes and electronic stamps for letters and packages.
Because of the high level of commercial interest in Aimin Song's breakthrough technology, he has formed a company called Plastic ePrint with support from the University of Manchester Intellectual Property (UMIP) company. The firm is now seeking venture capital funding and is also working on creating demonstration versions of plastic radio frequency (RF) smart cards and developing plastic components for use in flexible displays.
London Press Service
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