Nanoporous stamps made of forests of carbon nanotubes may be the solution for printing large and inexpensive electronic displays.
These stamps, developed by a research team at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), make it possible to print electronic ink by flexography, which uses a flexible stamp on a roller to transfer words and patterns onto either rigid or flexible surfaces.
MIT鈥檚 nanostamp technology could bring flexography into the digital age, allowing for the printing of packaging, glass, and other surfaces with electronic ink. So far, there has not been a good way to print electronic inks on such a small scale, says John Hart, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at MIT. Inkjet printing cannot create droplets smaller than 10鈥�20 渭m, and current flexography is limited to a resolution of 50鈥�100 渭m. Higher-resolution printing methods exist, Hart and his colleagues say, but those methods do not allow for high-throughput production.
鈥淔urther breakthroughs in printing technologies are now essential to scalable manufacturing of electronic devices in large-area and unconventional formats, such as on windows, contact lenses, ultrathin membranes, and...
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