Abstract
At first sight, paper would appear like an improbable leader in the competitive electronics race. Paper is not as strong as plastic or as smooth as new elastic type of glass. At an infinitesimal level, a paper is made up of loops of cellulose fibers. With these features, this material is hardly the type of composition appropriate for the creation of electronic components. Compared to other materials, paper is light, supple, eco-friendly, and is derived from renewable sources. Equally, it is extremely flexible. With appropriate raw materials and manufacturing procedures, the material can offer a collection of properties. As such, it comprises of hydrophilic, absorbent, opaque, or waterproof properties. Compared with plastic films, paper films cost ten times lesser than plastic films.
Introduction
Although plastics, silicon, and glass are the common electronics, it should be noted that paper electronics studies have been conducted for over half a century (Lisboa, 2008). During the 1960s several materials including paper were experimented on to determine if they could be used as substrates. Although there were scanty technologies in glazing and processing, the use of paper had several prospective features. A key feature amid these attributes was its superiority as an electrical insulator. Equally, a material made from paper possesses a resistivity of up ten billion Ω. This is approximately one hundred thousand times the silicon’s resistivity. This implies that paper material is a perfect substrate for electronics. As such, it perfectly defies the flow of current. Through this, the conventional pathways through which electrons slip through when the transistors are off are eradicated. Despite these properties, it should be noted that papers have not been the appropriate materials to create transistors in the past. Other resources such as glass and silicon are simple to fabricate. The height of materials made from these resources varies up to some nanometers or less. However, height differences in paper vary up to some micrometers with respect to the fiber dimension and the manner in which the fibers intertwine. Notably, electronics created from such an uneven surface differ significantly in their functioning. Therefore, a number of these electronics will not function at all.
Body
The above figure shows an approach of developing an organic switch. Transistors on supple substrates are developed with macrobiotic or non-macrobiotic semiconducting conduits. In the last few years, several researchers have been conducted on how to overcome the above challenges and make the paper an ideal substrate. The researchers have noted that if they could develop a backend circuitry required to manage pixels, they could succeed in developing a flexible display, which has the appearance and touch of paper. Of all the researches, a few study groups have been successful in creating transistors from papers (Truong & Sundburg, 2006). These researches have employed natural materials such as silicon and indium gallium zinc oxide in designing current conduits. With this progress, the appropriate papers for the creation of electronic devices have been identified. The paramount are those that possesses unusual polymer varnish that aid in filling up the channel in the exterior to stop chemical deprivation throughout the production process.
Without the use of amorphous and non-crystalline films, paper would catch fire. This would happen because high temperatures are required to raise and take care of the crystalline films. To evade this, customary techniques of dropping materials in a vacuum are employed at lesser temperatures. This production approach is uncomplicated. However, the resultant transistors have a tendency to hold paper’s intrinsic textural variation. Therefore, the voltage required to get current to flow in paper materials is higher compared to the current needed in conventional transistor materials.
Over the years, John Rodgers Group has been researching on the ideal means of fabricating paper electronics. They have experimented on means building silicon and then transferring them on to paper substrates. Compared to other methods, this approach has developed better performing circuits. This production process is not only involving but also more expensive. The high cost is associated with the cost of building a silicon wafer. With respect to commercial production, macrobiotic semiconductors would be ideal. Unlike non-macrobiotic materials, macrobiotic elements can be softened in liquid and placed on paper with the use of roll-to-roll imprinters like conventional ink. It should be noted that this method still faces some impediments. For instance, these transistors are likely to be slower because of the inherent features of the semiconductors. As such, organic switch is physically more responsive to environmental settings. For instance, O2 and moisture can create an opening between an organic fabric and a metal electrode. This happens through chemical deprivation by oxidation or by partially dissolving the makeup. To evade this, surface treatments are recommended. Surface treatment absorbs the water vapor from the surrounding, which could have an effect on the apparatus being built on the surface of the paper making it waterproof (Schmatz & Morf, 2000). In addition, an enhancement is required to make certain that organic circuits operate appropriately for a long time under comparatively humid surrounding.
Currently, thin-film paper circuits are extremely slow. Therefore, under their current conditions they cannot be employed in computing. However, they can offer attractive ways for managing and interrelating with sensors, exhibitions, and energy harvesting devices. Creating such apparatus on paper is as difficult as creating back-end electronics. However, advancement has been reported in the area of reflective displays. As such, the utilization of the electro-chromic exhibition that employs the use of pixels created from conducting polymer has been noted as a hopeful advancement. When an adequate electrical energy is applied on a single pixel, electrons are displaced off the surface of the polymer. During this process, polymer’s optical properties fluctuate from dark blue to clear. This method was first experimented by Magnus Berggren’s group. The method has numerous advantages. As such, this method is not only necessitates small volts to control but also is also structurally uncomplicated. With this approach, there are a few shortcomings. The color palettes are incomplete. When compared to semiconductors, its switching speed is slow. Usually, it requires between a fraction of a second to more than a few seconds to undertake a pixel conversion. Because of this, the display is inappropriate for full motion video.
The above described systems are not the only applications being studied on the project. Several researches about the application light-emitting devices on papers are ongoing. Others researches are focused on finding out the innovative means of creating supple RF antennas fastened to curved exteriors that enhance their performance. It is apparent that in spite of of what we decide to construct, paper electronics will at all the time be inadequate if we can come up with a means to distribute energy to the apparatus in a manner that is as portable, lean, lightweight, and supple as paper. Therefore, in the future we should strive to construct batteries or capacitors on the papers that contain the apparatus.
One probable means of storing power on paper is to make use of its extended and lean cellulose fibers. These fibers have a large surface area, which can be employed in storage of the power needed. Paper can be covered with electrolytes to come up with an alternative of conventional battery. On the other hand, it can be varnished with metal or carbon to enhance charge storage.
If the right technology is developed to integrate power, back-end electronics, and front-end devices, engineers would be able to come up with a completely integrated systems on paper. These systems will be able to generate their own energy and communicate with other devices. Coming up with means to execute this integration will be a considerable problem. As such, it might be found that the perfect paper substrate used in back-end circuitry might be dissimilar from what is used in building a front-end display that containing basic electrical devices. Some features such as the wires used in the connections are very delicate. This implies that they have to be built with care most likely by means of equipments and geometry dissimilar from those employed in the usual inflexible integrated circuits. However, if the current projects succeed it would fill a significant economic space in the scientific field of electrical devices. Despite the fact that the cost of constructing transistors have significantly decreased in the past few years, the general fixed expenses of resources have increased tremendously. To revolutionize this industry, new approaches should be adopted to tackle the challenges.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that in the near future advances in technology will make paper material a perfect substrate for electronics. As such, it perfectly defies the flow of current. Through this, the conventional pathways through which electrons slip through when the transistors are off being eradicated. Currently, papers have not been the appropriate materials to create transistors. Other resources such as glass and silicon are simple to fabricate. The height of materials made from these resources varies up to some nanometers or less. In the last few years, several researchers have been conducted on how to overcome the above challenges and make the paper an ideal substrate. The researchers have noted that if they could develop a backend circuitry required to manage pixels, they could succeed in developing a flexible display, which has the appearance and touch of paper. Of all the researches, a few study groups have been successful in creating transistors from papers. These researches have employed natural materials such as silicon and indium gallium zinc oxide in designing current conduits. If the right technology will be developed in the near future to integrate power, back-end electronics, and front-end devices, scientists would be able to come up with completely integrated systems on paper. These systems must be able to generate their own energy and communicate with other devices.
References
Lisboa, N. d. (2008). Paper Transistor. – IEEE Spectrum. Web.
Schmatz, M. L., & Morf, T. (2000). Accurate de-embedding of CMOS transistors from on-wafer measurements up to 110 GHz using automatically characterized CMOS calibration structures. Yorktown Heights, N.Y.: IBM T.J. Watson Research Center.
Truong, L. V., & Sundburg, G. R. (2006). Programmable, automated transistor test system. Washington, D.C.: National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Scientific and Technical Information Branch.