A new silver-inked pen has been developed by engineers at the University of Illinois which allows you to literally draw electrical circuits and interconnects on to paper, wood and other materials.
The pens ink is made from a solution of real silver and once a circuit is draw the ink will then dry to create a conductive silver pathway similar to paper mounted wires.
The pathways retaining their conductivity, even if the paper or material use to write on is folded or bent, and have already been used to create flexible LED displays on paper, conductive text and three-dimensional radio-frequency antennas.
“Pen-based printing allows one to construct electronic devices ‘on-the-fly’,” “
This is an important step toward enabling desktop manufacturing (or personal fabrication) using very low cost, ubiquitous printing tools.” explains Jennifer Lewis, professor of materials science and engineering at the University of Illinois.
The team is now developing the palette of inks to include other electronic and ionically conductive materials to expand the range and its capabilities.
Source : TG Daily
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