3D Printing of Flexible Two Terminal Electronic Memory Devices

Recent strategy in the electronics sector is to ascertain the ways to make cheap, flexible and environmentally friendly electronic devices. The 3D Inkjet printing technology is based on the Additive Manufacturing concept [1] and it is with no doubt capable of revolutionizing the whole system of manufacturing electronic devices including: material selection; design and fabrication steps and device configuration and architecture. 3D Inkjet printing technology (IJP) is one of the most promising technologies to reduce the harmful radiation/ heat generation and also achieve reduction in manufacturing cost. Here, we explore the potential of 3D – inkjet printing technology to provide an innovative approach for electronic devices in especially information storage elements by seeking to manufacture and characterize state-of-art fully inkjet printed two terminal electronic memory devices. In this work, an ink-jettable material was formulated, characterized and printed by a a piezoelectric Epson Sylus P50 Inkjet printing machine on a flexible substrate. The active printed layers were deposited into a functioning simple metal/insulator/metal structure. Firstly, from ink perspective, the main physical properties such as rheological behaviour; surface tension and wettability were investigated. Furthermore, an in-depth electrical characterization of the fabricated memory cells was carried out using HP4140B picoammeter and an HP4192A impedance analyser.

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