NU 2014-038

Inventors

Lorraine Francis

C. Daniel Frisbie

Mark Hersam*

Sooman Lim

Ethan Secor

Short Description

A graphene printing technology using high-quality graphene ink for high-speed, roll-to-roll fabrication of flexible electronics at high resolution.

Abstract

Northwestern researchers have developed a novel gravure printing technology using high-quality graphene-ink for high-speed, roll-to-roll fabrication of flexible electronics at high resolution. Printed and flexible electronics are a potentially disruptive technology, offering low-cost, large-area functional devices for applications in various areas such as energy harvesting, biological and environmental monitoring and flexible displays. In contrast to conventional inkjet printing technology, Northwestern's graphene based gravure printing technology, which enables high-speed, high-fidelity, roll-to-roll deposition of highly-conductive graphene ink, is the ideal method for manufacturing large-area of flexible electronics for large-scale industrial applications. This novel technology comprises both the high-quality graphene ink and the 'flooding-doctoring-printing' gravure printing method that enables high-throughput and high-fidelity fabrication. The formulation of this graphene ink can be carefully fine-tuned to achieve stable printing features on a variety of substrates with excellent morphology.

Applications

• Printed, flexible, foldable, large-area electronics
• High-speed, roll-to-roll deposition of graphene
• Energy harvesting devices
• Biological and environmental monitoring devices

Advantages

• Novel, pristine graphene ink
• Large-area electronics printing on flexible substrates with excellent morphology
• High-speed, high-throughput and high-fidelity printing
• High conductivity printed features
• Commercially viable, scalable process for industrial application

Publications

Sector E, et al (2014) 'Gravure Printing of Graphene for Large-Area Flexible Electronics', Advanced Materials, 26:4533-4538. DOI: 10.1002/adma.201401052

IP Status

Issued US Patent No. 9,840,634

Gravure printing of high-quality graphene ink. (a): Gravure printing of graphene ink employing flooding-doctoring-printing strategy. (b) Printed graphene crossbar array. (c): Photograph of large-area patterns.