Of Foldable Screens and Printed Electronics

Much as we dislike it, plastic or polymer has nevertheless

permeated everything in our lives. This organic substance seems to be fairly

ubiquitous from white goods to textiles; polymer is an undisputed king. While it

rules on the macro level, somehow it has not made headway on the nano scale.

That all could very well change with the emergence of organic electronics.

Revolution seems like understatement, when one refers to the

change that has occurred in the computing industry. Everything has dramatically

and drastically changed; the processing power has increased hundred times over,

applications have changed, newer devices have emerged. The only thing that has

remained more or less untouched is the display device, or the unassuming

monitor.

To be fair, the green monitor screen has been replaced by a much

vibrant color screen; much slimmer and sleeker. That's about it.

There is a ray of hope breaking on the horizon. A hope that in

the future, display screens would not be as bulky as they are, they would not be

limited to current materials, etc. All in all, the displays will be not only be

sleeker but also more flexible in nature. A researcher at Bell Laboraties in the

US is earnestly working at making that dream come true and his name is Ashok

Maliakal.

Wonders of Organic Electronics



Organic electronics (plastic electronics) is basically a branch of
electronics that deals with conductive polymers, or plastics. Organic

electronics differs from traditional electronics as the latter relies on

inorganic conductors such as copper or silicon.

"Since my doctoral work, I've been interested in how

molecular structure affects a materials properties. Organic electronics is a

wonderful place to explore these interactions," says



Maliakal.

The singular biggest application of organic electronics can be

seen in what is popularly termed as 'printed electronics'. This is an

emerging technology that talks about printing of electronics on common media

such as paper, plastic, and textile using current printing processes. This

printing utilizes common press equipment in the graphics arts industry, such as

screen-printing, flexography, gravure, and offset lithography.

Once, printing electronics picks up, there is going to be an

explosion of low-cost electronics useful for applications not typically

associated with conventional (ie, silicon-based) electronics, such as flexible

displays, smart labels, animated posters, and active clothing.

"Conventional ways of creating electronic circuitry are not only

complicated but costly as well, with printed electronics there would be large

scale upsurge in low cost devices," says Maliakal.

One of the biggest application of printing electronics could be

in the production of flexible electronic displays. As the current displays are

quite rigid in nature, printed electronics could help in the invention of a

low-cost, foldable, bendable display devices that can be mass produced for

applications such as large area sensor networks, lightweight viewing screens for

various handheld devices like PDAs, etc. Philips last year displayed a device

with a rollable display known as Readius, that is fairly similar in design but

quite different in the way it is manufactured. "My work could help enable a

practical printing process for generating flexible display technologies,"

says Maliakal.

Functional Nano-technology



Maliakal´s work at Bell Labs focuses on the design and development of nano-structured
organic and hybrid materials for advanced electronic applications. His research

is paving the way for design and development of functional electronic materials

that will lead to new, fully integrated devices and sub-systems, as well as

low-cost fabrication methodologies and increased functionality. Maliakal has

made a breakthrough in the development of a new printable hybrid

organic-inorganic material that formed good films with triple the permittivity

of known polymers.

The beauty of Malaikal's invention is that it not only allows

inventive usage but at much lesser power consumption. "Prototype circuits

made with the material operate at one-third the voltage of those made with the

polymer alone. That could mean displays that consume a lot less power, " he

adds.

For his pioneering work, Maliakal was recently awarded the

prestigious TR35 Award. It is an award given annually by MIT's Technology

Review to a selection of 35 of the world's leading high-tech innovators under

the age of 35. And all that Maliakal would say is, "Excellent! It is a

great honor."

Maliakal is a first generation American, as his parents had

migrated from India a few decades back. He currently holds five patents awarded

or pending and has published more than 16 papers. He completed his Bachelor´s

degree in Chemistry from Cornell University and a Ph D in Organic Chemistry from

Columbia University. His interests range from going out with family (wife and

son) to music and running. He admits to occasionally see a Hindi movie, now and

then.

Since, his parents are from Kerala, is he conversant in

Malayalam? "I can understand it, but can't speak fluently. I will

certainly not win awards with my Malayalam," he says. He occasionally

visits India, and feels that "India certainly is improving in terms of

scientific contributions. The number of research papers I read originating from

India has been increasing." Maliakal also does not believe in astrology or

sun signs and would not share his birthdate, as one could discern his sun sign

and would judge him accordingly. On a lighter note, that seems a rather

obstinate trait; now which sign could that be, any guesses?

Shashwat Chaturvedi



maildqindia@cybermedia.co.in