Research & Reviews: Journal of Material Sciences
MenuISSN:2321-6212
ISSN:2321-6212
Tengyuan Zhang
Western University, Canada
ScientificTracks Abstracts: Res. Rev. J Mat. Sci
The accelerating arrival of the Internet of Things (IoT) era creates huge demand for low-cost, high-performance paper electronics. However, fabricating highly conductive circuit on low-cost cellulose paper is challenging due to its high roughness and resolution loss caused by capillary effect. To address these challenges, we propose a scalable, cost-effective method to fabricate high-performance electronics on regular cellulose paper. Taking advantage of the unique porous structure of cellulose paper, we activate the three-dimensional electroless deposition of copper for fast generation of the hybrid copperfiber highly conductive structure. Currently, the sheet resistance of most PE product is 50 mΩ/sq. With the technology mentioned above, 5 mΩ/sq (10 times better) can be easily achieved with low cost and high resolution (100 microns feature size). Thanks to its unique copper-fiber hybrid structure, both the physical and electrical properties are greatly enhanced for wider variety of applications. To demonstrate its promising application, a functional battery-free energy harvesting device and a high-performance planar antenna for RFID were fabricated and tested using the proposed method.
Tengyuan Zhang is currently a PhD Candidate of Mechanical & Materials Engineering in Western University, London, Ontario. His research explores printed flexible and stretchable electronics. Based on his research, he co-founded Nectro Inc. in 2015 with the goal of developing novel nano-materials and bringing them to people’s life. He was awarded the Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarship in 2015 and won the Doctoral Excellence Research Award in 2016. Now, he looks to combine cutting-edge nanotechnology and advanced chemical/material science to find a robust, low-cost solution for manufacturing high-performance, highresolution flexible and stretchable electronics.