X-Message-Number: 22123
Date: Fri, 04 Jul 2003 01:18:19 -0700
From: James Swayze <>
Subject: Printing Photonic circuits -- and more?/My new email address

This was first posted by Eugene Leitl somewhere then forwarded by Joseph
M. Graham to the MURG list. To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World
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[begin quote]

http://www.eet.com/at/news/OEG20020410S0013

By R. Colin Johnson EE Times April 10, 2002 (9:37 a.m. EST)

TUCSON, Ariz. ? A new family of organic polymers demonstrated at the
University of Arizona can "paint" computer displays and photocell arrays
onto most any surface, and could enable self-contained "computerless"
niche devices that are cheaper and more flexible than what's available
today.

The approach loads polymer-based electro-optic ink into inkjet
cartridges then uses a conventional inkjet printer to deposit photonic
circuits onto flexible surfaces.

http://hdlsolutions.mentor.com/

"We are still exploring all the different circuit elements we can make
with these organic molecules," said Ghassan Jabbour, a University of
Arizona researcher who leads the group that demonstrated the method.

Embedded images

By adjusting the formulas mixed from the inkjet cartridges while they
spray, Jabbour plans to emulate resistors and similar components found
in traditional circuits. An image, for instance, can be hardwired into
the variable conductivity of the wires that are painted onto an
otherwise fixed grid of organic LEDs, thereby embedding the image in the
array rather than requiring a separate memory from which to read it out.

"You have much more flexibility than when using traditional circuit
components," said Jabbour, "because you can mix together different
compounds for truly continuous changes. For instance, we can mix
different molecules from different inkjet cartridges during printing for
truly continuous changes in conductivity." He was assisted on the
project by a student, Yuka Yoshioka.

So far, Jabbour's group has shown that it can paint complete systems for
displaying images via organic LED "portraits" and for collecting energy
from inkjet-printed solar-cell arrays.

Using simple software algorithms on a computer to which the inkjet
printer is attached, the group demonstrated a versatile painting
technology that could create nearly any size photonic circuit.
Dispensing extremely small droplets of different organic molecules, the
high-speed nozzles of the computer-controlled print heads fired circuits
onto an electrically conductive polymer. The resulting inkjet-printed
portraits and solar arrays were entirely self-contained; the operation
needed just an attached battery to power the display.

"We keep coming up with new processes using inkjet techniques." Jabbour
said. "Besides varying the conductivity of wires, we can also mix
chemistry with the inkjets to control where we want a lot of electrons
and where we don't want electrons. We just program the printer to
interpret color commands in terms of the chemical reaction we want. To
the printer, it is just printing the same way as if it were putting
regular images on paper."

Since the inkjet's molecules are transparent ? and print on transparent
plastic, silicon or glass substrates ? solar cells can be unobtrusively
painted on convenient areas like windows. Likewise, until a portrait is
powered up it is similarly transparent. Both the solar cells and the
organic LEDs can emit/sense the infrared spectrum, making inexpensive
and difficult-to-detect security devices. Infrared solar cells, for
instance, could sense intruders and infrared portraits could convey
sensitive information to "night-goggled" security personnel.

Jabbour also said his group's approach piqued the interest of other
researchers working on MEMS-based technologies, like the handheld
"chem-lab on-a-chip" that is being funded by the Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency. The technique's ability to vary the electrical
conductivity of wires could be used to make microfluidic channels with
built-in ion filters, Jabbour said. "There are so many applications for
this technology, that we can't do them all," he said. [end quote]

Now I'm just guessing but could it also be possible to make standard
model semiconductor circuits/microprocessors by the same method? Then
might it also be possible using a chemical process to affect the
placement of an array of, vertically perpendicular to the plane of such
a printed circuit, connecting nano wire or semi conducting molecular
strings between several layers of these printed circuits to become a
inter connector layer? Could it be done in such a manner that either the
prearranged circuit layout, via the algorithm or program mentioned
above, could take advantage of the perpendicular inter connector layer
or that some attraction property, preferring an attachment to this or
that molecule, etc., might be used to place the inter connector layers
in such a manner that they created useful connections and did not either
short circuit or create nonsense pathways? All this in order to create a
3 dimensional net array cube processor?

I read somewhere that a nano researcher was causing such arrays to stand
vertically perpendicular to a sheet of gold. I imagined this technology
modified to become a connecting layer between two or more of these ink
jet printed circuits so that a 3 dimensional neural net was the result.
I also read somewhere that such a 3 dimensional processor could take
advantage of connectivity in all directions much like brains do rather
than simply 2 dimensional layouts of pathways etched upon a flat plane.

Can someone correct me if I'm simply dreaming nonsense?

ON ANOTHER NOTE:

My email address has changed from  to
, please take note of this if you ever wish to email
me privately. My isp will be forwarding my email from my old address up
to December, however, they aren't also automating a reply notifying of
the new address. This will throw off spammers for a short while.

James

-- 

Cryonics Institute of Michigan Member!
The Immortalist Society Member!
The Society for Venturism Member!

MY WEBSITE: http://www.geocities.com/~davidpascal/swayze/
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