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 Wide Web, visit http://minduploading.org/mailman/listinfo/murg [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/ Signature Memetic Virus--The worst enemy of those who now or will need medical care is the politician and proselytizing religious fanatic who proscribes what doctors are allowed to prescribe and research, with the consent of their patients. Those who understand this are strongly encouraged to modify this to fit their personality, and add this to their signature file, and organize to recover our freedom from Big Brother. For those who wait until they are sick, it will be too late. Those who suffer from diseases which might have been cured by fetal tissue research or schedule 1 drugs banned by Big Brother, have the right to hold accountable those who sat on their hands or worse, deferred their responsibility for personal and humanity's survival to useless gods and pontificating religious quacks, while they remained ill and dying. Rate This Message: http://www.cryonet.org/cgi-bin/rate.cgi?msg=22123