SBIR-STTR Award

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project aims to develop high-performance conductive inks based on graphene technology for the printed electronics industry. Emerging printed electronics market applications require stringent flexibility and conductivity of conductive inks. Components printed with existing conductive inks are challenged by repeated flexing cycles that can break the conductive paths. In this project, a graphene-based ink will be engineered for the combination of electrical, mechanical, and environmental durability properties specified for the flexible printed electronics markets. The effects of different formulation chemistries will be studied to maximize the mechanical flexibility and creasing performance, without detrimentally affecting the electrical conductivity of graphene-based inks. The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the potential to provide conductive inks that overcome the performance barriers that currently limit next generation printed electronics applications. The printed electronics market is growing across multiple sectors driven by following applications: radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for tracking inventory, smart packaging for anti-theft and anti-tampering purposes, smart cards and printed displays. The new conductive inks are expected to provide superior mechanical robustness, flexibility and enhanced interfacial adhesion to improve lifetime and performance of printed electronics. Furthermore, this technology will eliminate the sintering step of current conductive inks and allow manufacturers to print on low-cost substrates that could not otherwise survive sintering

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project aims to develop high-performance graphene-based conductive inks for printed electronics to meet its stringent cost, flexibility, and conductivity requirements. Components printed with existing conductive inks are challenged by repeated flexing cycles that can break conductive paths. In this project, a graphene filler technology and a novel formulation will be used to achieve the combination of electrical, mechanical, and environmental durability properties specified for the flexible printed electronics at a price point that enables high-volume applications. The broader/commercial impact of this project will be the availability of a conductive ink that meets performance requirements of next-generation printed electronics. The printed electronics market is growing across multiple sectors driven by applications including radio-frequency identification (RFID) tags for tracking inventory, smart packaging for anti-theft and anti-tampering purposes, smart cards and printed displays. Conductive inks are a critical component in printed electronics, and limitations of existing conductive inks have curtailed market growth. The new graphene-based conductive inks are expected to demonstrate flexibility and mechanical robustness that improves lifetime and performance of printed electronics, while providing significant cost advantage over silver-based inks currently widely used in printed electronics industry.