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To be fair, the green monitor screen has been replaced by a much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