Changing images in newspapers and on packaging – akin to The Daily Prophet in the fictional world of Harry Potter – could soon be a reality.
Electronic devices made from plastic or organic materials are the focus of a rapidly growing area of research called plastic electronics. Until recently, electronic devices were made from rigid, inorganic materials such as silicon.
The new technology could be used to easily make flexible, cheap electronic products.
.jpg "Dr Helena Gleskova")
Dr Helena Gleskova, of the University's Centre for Intelligent Dynamic Communication (CIDCOM), is using the facilities in the Digital Design and Manufacturing Studio as part of her research into one area of plastic electronics.
"We are only at the early stages of research but, once developed, the technology could be used in quite novel ways," says Dr Gleskova.
"It could be possible to create food packaging that would monitor the freshness of the product or produce wall paper that allows you to alter its images depending on your mood. We could perhaps have ‘body blankets’ that monitor your health or wrist bands for patients that store their entire medical history."
Developing the new technology often requires electronic devices that are 1,000 times bigger than those made in silicon. This has re-established an old technique – known as shadow-masking – as one way to make plastic electronic circuits.
Shadow-masking uses a 'mask' – much like a stencil – to deposit the materials that make up plastic electronic devices and circuits.
Dr Gleskova is creating masks for experiments on the optimum way to build plastic transistors – the main building blocks of any electronic circuit.
"Our device structure needs to work faster, for longer and be more reliable. This can be achieved by changing how we create the device by, for example, experimenting with the appropriate materials and material combinations.
"Having the facilities in-house allows for faster and greater experimentation in my research."
Who's involved and how is it funded?
Dr Gleskova is collaborating with researchers at the University of Glasgow to develop novel plastic electronic devices. The research is being funded by Glasgow Research Partnership in Engineering – a pool of funding to support collaborative, ambitious and innovative research between the West of Scotland’s four universities.
Two specialised laboratories were established for the project; one to to evaluate device performance (speed, stability and reliability) at Strathclyde and the other to create plastic electronic devices and circuits at the University of Glasgow.