Tag Archives: electronics

Water-Soluble 3D Printed Electronics for Fast Recycling

Posted on by
Reply

Prototype electronics can be made from polymers that dissolve in water, facilitating recycling.

ZEYU YAN/University of Maryland

Devices like Bluetooth speakers can be 3D printed using water-soluble materials in just a few hours. This innovation enables rapid prototyping, easier recycling of electronic waste, and encourages more sustainable manufacturing practices for consumer electronics.

Researchers have successfully created technology that can dissolve, including printed circuit boards that house essential components and wiring for modern electronics. Each year, hundreds of millions of printed circuit boards are produced for military aircraft, automobiles, medical devices, smartphones, and inexpensive toys. Yet, globally, only a fraction of these devices are recycled through labor-intensive methods, often involving shredding to reclaim usable materials, according to Huaishu Peng from the University of Maryland.

Peng and his team crafted a 3D printed circuit board with polyvinyl alcohol, a polymer that dissolves in water. They filled the circuit board’s channels with liquid gallium-indium metal alloys for wiring, and manually attached electronic components. After sealing the circuit with a polymer adhesive, the device was dried for an hour at 60 °C.

This method enabled researchers to assemble functioning prototypes of a Bluetooth speaker, a fidget toy, and an electronic gripper with three fingers. A small amount of water does not immediately damage these devices, but after soaking for 36 hours at a room temperature of 22°C, they dissolve.

The researchers could then easily retrieve most electronic components and liquid metals, which accumulated as small beads. The evaporation of water also allowed them to recover 99% of the dissolved polyvinyl alcohol.

Soluble circuit boards are particularly beneficial for designers who aim to quickly test and validate electronic prototypes, as recycling traditional printed circuit boards presents significant challenges. As noted by Jasmine Lu from the University of Chicago, Illinois, in her study on circuit board reuse, “Printed circuit boards are a major source of e-waste during the prototyping of electronic devices.”

A 2022 United Nations Report regarding e-waste revealed that Asia generated 600,000 tons of discarded circuit boards but managed to recycle only 17%. In contrast, Europe and North America produced 300,000 tons of printed circuit boards, achieving a recycling rate of 61% in Europe and 44% in North America.

What sets this approach apart is that virtually anyone with a 3D printer can implement this dissolvable electronics methodology, making it more accessible compared to other sustainable electronics initiatives, according to Lu. For practical use, Peng suggests that the devices can be safeguarded with a temporary waterproof casing.

Nonetheless, due to the inherent fragility of these circuit boards, Lu indicates that soluble electronics are currently more suited for rapid prototyping rather than mass production of finished electronic goods.

Peng and his colleagues have not dismissed the idea of mass production. They are reaching out to circuit board manufacturers to explore the possibilities. For now, Peng aims to utilize this technology to enable university students to rapidly prototype and reuse designs.

“Typically, you would need to outsource circuit board production to a factory, which could take weeks for manufacturing and shipping,” he explains. “You can design something here, print it in under 30 minutes, and if it doesn’t work, simply dissolve it in water and try again.”

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Energy Sector to Eliminate Electronics Efficiency Regulations

Posted on by
Reply

On Monday, the Energy Bureau announced it is set to revoke energy and water conservation standards impacting a range of appliances and gas devices, totaling 47 regulations. In this context “It was raising costs for Americans and diminishing quality of life.”

The initiative follows a Presidential Order in which President Trump directed the energy sector to “remove constraints on water pressure and efficiency regulations that make household products more costly and effective.”

However, energy efficiency specialists and climate advocates argue that this move will increase operational costs for household appliances like dehumidifiers and portable air conditioners, as well as industrial machines like air compressors.

“If this consumer assault is successful, President Trump will significantly raise expenses for families when manufacturers flood the market with energy and water-draining products,” stated Andrew Delaski, executive director of the Appliance Standards Awareness Project, a consortium of environmental, consumer groups, utilities, and governmental agencies.

Delaski further asserted that this initiative breaches anti-backsliding provisions established decades ago.

“It’s evidently illegal, so please exercise caution,” he remarked in a statement.

Similar to many nations, the US has been implementing standards for years that regulate the energy and water usage of appliances, including light bulbs, dishwashers, water heaters, and washing machines.

According to government scientists’ reports, the efficiency standards saved the average American household roughly $576 on water and gas bills in 2024, leading to a 6.5% reduction in national energy consumption and a 12% decrease in public water use. These measures have prevented the total energy and water usage by American households from rising faster than population growth.

Nonetheless, the Trump administration has characterized these standards as an example of government overreach. Trump frequently criticized weak water pressure from shower heads or toilets that do not flush effectively, denouncing the efficiency standards associated with these devices. Conservative factions, too, argue that efficiency standards compromise appliance performance, especially for dishwashers.

The list of energy sector appliance regulations targets various devices, including air cleaners, battery chargers, compressors, cooking tops, dehumidifiers, external power supplies, microwaves, dishwashers, and faucets.

The department indicated that the rescinded standards would “eliminate over 125,000 words from federal regulations.” However, rolling back the standards necessitates a new rule-making process that may take several months. Additionally, these rollbacks could encounter legal opposition.

The department has not yet responded to requests for comments.

Simultaneously, the Environmental Protection Agency is planning to eliminate the Energy Star program, a universal energy efficiency certification for appliances like dishwashers, refrigerators, and dryers.

Historically, manufacturers have backed government efficiency standards, but they are now attempting to leverage Trump’s inclination to deregulate.

The Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers, representing 150 manufacturers responsible for 95% of household appliances sold in the US, is still assessing Monday’s announcement.

However, Jill A. Notini, a public relations officer for the association, highlighted in a statement that the standards “have facilitated decades of successful advancements in appliance efficiency.” The association further noted, “With most appliances operating at near peak efficiency, substantial savings in some products are unlikely.”

In addition to rolling back efficiency standards, the energy sector intends to abolish several clean energy and climate change initiatives. This includes rescinding reporting requirements for voluntary programs that allow businesses to report greenhouse gas emissions and terminating programs that provide compensation for electricity generated from renewable sources.

The energy sector is also discarding what it terms “unscientific” diversity, equity, and inclusion prerequisites for grant recipients, proposing to eliminate regulations that prevent subsidies from discriminating based on gender, race, or age.

Certain proposals appear to be unrelated to the department’s core focus. One suggested repeal involves “termination requirements for a single sex member to compete on sports teams of the opposite sex.”

Source: www.nytimes.com

Samsung Electronics executive Han Jong-Hee dies at 63

Posted on by
Reply

Han Jong-Hee, co-director of Samsung Electronics and nearly four-year veteran of South Korean consumer technology giant, passed away on Tuesday.

According to a company spokesman, Han, 63, suffered a sudden heart attack.

Since 2022, Han has shared the Chief Executive Officer and CEO of Samsung’s semiconductor business, and more recently Jun Young Hyun. Jun was named Samsung Electronics’ sole CEO on Tuesday after Han’s death, the company said: Announcement.

Han has been running Samsung’s home appliance business since 2021, and added the operation of a digital appliance to his brief a year later. He was also a member of the board. Previously, he oversaw a group that created visual displays for various Samsung electronic devices.

Han graduated from Inha University in Incheon, South Korea and earned a degree in electrical engineering. He joined Samsung in 1988 at a pivotal time in the company’s history, shortly after the death of its founder, Lee Byungchul.

Lee’s son and successor dominated the market for thin displays and mobile phones, pushing Samsung mercilessly through the technological changes of the 1990s and 2000s.

Samsung is the largest and most successful conglomerate known as Choi Bol, which transformed South Korea’s economy into a global export powerhouse. Samsung Electronics is a significant part of it of the country’s exports. Samsung is one of the most popular brands in the global smartphone market, competing with Apple and Xiaomi. It is also the world’s largest manufacturer of memory chips used in everything from electric vehicles and smartwatches to advanced artificial intelligence servers.

Han was survived by his wife and three children, the company said. The funeral will be held on Thursday at the funeral home of Samsung Seoul Hospital, a spokeswoman said.

Source: www.nytimes.com

Diamond Wafers for Electronics: A Thin and Adhesive Solution

Posted on by
Reply
Ultra-flexible thin diamond wafer

This thin diamond wafer is also very flexible

Nature, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-08218-x

A new method of using adhesive tape to create ultrathin diamond wafers could aid in the production of diamond-based electronics, which may one day provide a useful alternative to silicon-based designs.

Diamond is an excellent insulator, and at the same time has unusual electronic properties that allow electrons with a certain energy to move with little resistance. This means it can handle high energy with higher efficiency than traditional silicon chip designs.

However, manufacturing practical diamond chips requires large, very thin wafers, similar to the thin silicon wafers used to make modern computer chips, which have proven difficult to create.

now, Chu Zhiqing and colleagues at the University of Hong Kong have discovered a way to use adhesive tape to fabricate extremely thin and flexible diamond wafers.

Chu and his colleagues first embedded nano-sized diamonds in a small silicon wafer and then sprayed methane gas at high temperatures onto them to form a continuous, thin sheet of diamond. Next, we made a small crack on one side of the pasted diamond sheet, and then used regular adhesive tape to peel off the diamond layer.

They say that this exfoliated diamond sheet is extremely thin, less than a micrometer, much thinner than a human hair, and smooth enough to use the kind of etching techniques used to make silicon chips. I discovered.

“This is very reminiscent of the early days of graphene, when cellophane tape was used to produce the first monolayers of graphene from graphite. I never imagined this concept would be applied to diamond. “I did,” he says. julie macpherson At the University of Warwick, UK.

“This new edge-exposed delamination method will enable numerous device designs and experimental approaches,” he says. Mete Atature at Cambridge University. One area that could be particularly useful is increasing control over quantum devices that use diamonds as sensors, he says.

Chu and his colleagues say the diamond films they can produce are about 5 centimeters in diameter, showing that the method works as a proof of principle. andrea ferrari But that’s smaller than the 20 to 30 centimeters that are standard in many wafer processes, and it’s not clear whether the new method can be scaled up, he says.

The manufactured wafers also appear to be polycrystalline, but they are not as smooth and regular as single-crystal diamond, which may limit their use in some applications, McPherson said.

topic:

Source: www.newscientist.com

Scientists showcase innovative self-assembling electronics technology

Posted on by
Reply

New proof of concept workpublished in a magazine materials horizonpaving the way for self-assembly of more complex electronic devices without relying on existing computer chip manufacturing techniques.

Bottom-up nano-to-microfabrication is of critical importance in modern electronics and optics. However, conventional multiscale array manufacturing techniques face the challenge of reconciling the conflict between the pursuit of better device performance and lower manufacturing costs and/or energy consumption. Chan others. We introduce a facile method for fabricating mixed-metal arrays based on directed self-assembly in which organometallic adducts derived from passivating oxides of ternary liquid metals are polymerized to fabricate mixed-metal wires. Image credit: Julia Chan.

“Existing chip manufacturing techniques involve many steps and rely on highly complex technology, making the process costly and time-consuming,” said Martin Tuo, a professor at North Carolina State University.

“Our self-assembly approach is significantly faster and cheaper.”

“We also demonstrated that this process can be used to tune the bandgap of semiconductor materials and make the materials responsive to light. This means this technique can be used to create optoelectronic devices. ”

“Furthermore, current manufacturing techniques have low yields, resulting in a relatively large number of unusable and defective chips being produced.”

“Our approach is high-yielding, meaning we produce arrays more consistently and with less waste.”

“We call this new self-assembly technique the directed metal-ligand (D-Met) reaction. Here's how it works,” he added.

“We start with liquid metal particles. In our proof-of-concept work, we used field metals, which are alloys of indium, bismuth, and tin.”

“Liquid metal particles are placed next to a mold and can be made into any size or pattern. A solution is then poured into the liquid metal.”

“The solution contains molecules called ligands, which are made up of carbon and oxygen.”

“These ligands collect ions from the surface of the liquid metal and hold them in a specific geometric pattern.”

“The solution flows across the liquid metal particles and is drawn into the mold.”

As the solution flows into the mold, the ion-containing ligands begin to assemble, forming more complex 3D structures.

Meanwhile, the liquid part of the solution begins to evaporate, which causes the complex structures to become more and more tightly packed into the array.

“Without a type, these structures can form somewhat chaotic patterns,” Professor Tusiad says.

“But because solutions are constrained by type, structures form in predictable, symmetrical arrangements.”

“Once the structure reaches the desired size, we remove the mold and heat the array.”

“This heat causes the ligand to decompose, liberating carbon and oxygen atoms.”

“Metal ions interact with oxygen to form semiconducting metal oxides, and carbon atoms form graphene sheets.”

“These components form an ordered structure consisting of semiconducting metal oxide molecules wrapped in graphene sheets.”

Professor Thuo and his colleagues used this technique to create nanoscale and microscale transistors and diodes.

“Graphene sheets can be used to tune the bandgap of a semiconductor, making the semiconductor more or less responsive depending on the quality of the graphene,” said Dr. Julia Zhang, a postdoctoral researcher at North Carolina State University. Ta.

Additionally, the researchers used bismuth in their proof-of-concept work, which allowed them to create photoresponsive structures.

This allows the authors to use light to manipulate the properties of semiconductors.

“The nature of D-Met technology means that these materials can be manufactured on a large scale, limited only by the size of the molds used,” Professor Thuo said.

“By manipulating the type of liquid used in the solution, the dimensions of the mold, and the rate of evaporation of the solution, we can also control the semiconductor structure.”

“In short, we have shown that highly structured and highly tunable electronic materials can be self-assembled for use in functional electronic devices.”

“This research demonstrated the creation of transistors and diodes.”

“The next step is to use this technology to create more complex devices, such as 3D chips.”

_____

Julia J. Chan others. guided infinitely Assemble mixed metal oxide arrays from liquid metals. materials horizonpublished online on November 25, 2024. doi: 10.1039/D4MH01177E

This article is a version of a press release provided by North Carolina State University.

Source: www.sci.news