In one pass
The technology of fast electronic tattoos has been created
Sergey Kolenov, XX2 century
The discovery has great potential in the field of medicine and wearable electronics.
Researchers from Duke University has developed a new method of printing electronics that allows microchips to be applied to paper and even human skin. This opens the way to the creation of perfect "electronic tattoos" for health monitoring and technology management.
As the press release of Printed Electronics Open Way for Electrified Tattoos and Personalized Biosensors notes, electronic tattoos that exist today already allow you to track cardiac and brain activity and stimulate muscles, but they have a number of drawbacks. In particular, their manufacture remains a complex multi-stage process. There is no question of adding additional elements to the tattoo "on the go".
The new technique will reduce the process of applying an electronic tattoo to one step. It is based on ink with silver nanofibers, which can be applied as an aerosol to any surface at room temperature. Two minutes after spraying, they solidify in the form of a thin film that retains its properties after repeated bending.
As a demonstration of the technology, one of the authors of the work printed two wires connected to an LED on his little finger. After applying voltage to the wires, the diode turned on and continued to shine, even when the finger bent.
At the second stage, the researchers created a full–fledged electrode by combining a new type of ink with semiconductor carbon nanotubes and a layer of boron nitride - a two-dimensional dielectric.
Usually a combination of such materials requires complex procedures, for example, chemical cleaning of surfaces, but the use of an aerosol printer has greatly simplified the process.
The authors of the development doubt that the new technique will completely displace other ways of creating electronic tattoos. However, in some situations it can be irreplaceable. Possible applications include biosensors embedded in medical bandages and convenient biological markers.
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