Printed Electronics (PE) combines conventional printing methods with conducting, dielectric, and semiconducting inks to economically produce electronic devices in a high throughput fashion. This unique synergy at the intersection between the printing and the electronics industries allows the manufacturing of low-cost electronic devices that are light and flexible. The high throughput and low-cost manufacturing capabilities of PE are ideally suited to the mass production of devices needed for the Internet of Things.
The potential scale of this mass production (~50B smart objects connected by 2020) also presents an environmental challenge that must be addressed for printed electronics manufacturing to be a viable approach. There is an urgent need to reinvent the current methods of PE to incorporate green materials and processes to minimize the environmental impact.
Involving world-class chemists, physicists, engineers and world-leading printing and packaging industries from across Canada, NSERC-GreEN will develop advanced materials, electronic devices and manufacturing technologies for green and eco-friendly printed electronics devices for smart packaging applications.