Applied Materials

Fabric alternative to batteries

A major factor holding back development of wearable biosensors for health monitoring is the lack of a lightweight, long-lasting power supply. Now scientists report that they have developed a method for making a charge-storing system that is easily integrated into clothing for "embroidering a charge-storing pattern onto any garment."

Color-changing contact lens to monitor disease

For all the good they do, eye drops and ointments have one major drawback: It's hard to tell how much of the medication is actually getting to the eye. Now scientists report that they have developed a contact lens that changes color as drugs are released. This visual indicator could help eye doctors and patients readily determine whether these medications are where they should be.

VDL FLOW

VDL provides contract manufacturing - from cars and electric buses to manufacturing machines for flexible electronics. This profile focuses on their work with flexible/printed electronics.

Stretchy wires for the future

Scientists have teamed up to create stretchable, flexible wires that conduct current and change colors to indicate they're about to reach the breaking point. Future uses could be wearable electronics, biomedical devices and soft robots.

Paving the way to highly stretchable and transparent electronics

Scientists have proposed a novel method for the fabrication of highly transparent, electrically conductive, stretchable tough hydrogels modified by single-walled carbon nanotubes.

Compact and flexible supercapacitor developed

A lightweight, compact and efficient supercapacitor printed on a flexible plastic sheet has been developed by researchers.

Newport Corporation

Newport are a manufacturer of photonics products. The company have a laser business division and manufacture a variety of laser types. Many of the fiber lasers sold by Newport are produced by its subsidiary, Spectra-Physics (USA). The fiber lasers are suitable for material processing, sensing (LiDAR) and healthcare applications. Newport largely operate as an independent company but is a subsidiary of MKS Instruments (USA) since 2016.

Crumple up this keyboard and stick it in your pocket

Bendable portable keyboards for use with computers and other electronic devices are already on the market, but they have limited flexibility, and they're fairly sizable when rolled up for transport. Now researchers have crafted an inexpensive keyboard that is so tough, flexible and thin that it can be crumpled up and tucked in a pocket without damaging it.

3D-printed smart gel walks underwater, moves objects

Engineers have created a 3D-printed smart gel that walks underwater and grabs objects and moves them. The watery creation could lead to soft robots that mimic sea animals like the octopus, which can walk underwater and bump into things without damaging them. It may also lead to artificial heart, stomach and other muscles, along with devices for diagnosing diseases, detecting and delivering drugs and performing underwater inspections.

Strain sensing textiles to monitor movement

Researchers have engineered the next generation of wearable technology, using strain sensing textile fibres to create clothing that keeps track of its wearer's movements.

A graphene roll-out

MIT engineers have developed a continuous manufacturing process that produces long strips of high-quality graphene.

Kateeva appoints Marc Haugen as Chief Operating Officer

Kateeva announced that the company has expanded its executive team by appointing Marc Haugen as chief operating officer.

Lab unlocks secrets of nanoscale 3D printing

Researchers have discovered novel ways to extend the capabilities of two-photon lithography, a high-resolution 3D printing technique capable of producing nanoscale features smaller than one-hundredth the width of a human hair.

Electronic skin glows when it gets hurt

Electronic-skin technologies for prosthetics and robots can detect the slightest touch or breeze. But oddly, the sensors that make this possible do not respond effectively to a harmful blow.

Printing Electronics: Highlights of Some New Manufacturing Advances

In this subscriber-only content IDTechEx highlights some of the latest developments in printing and manufacturing processes for electronics.

Carbon nanofiber supercapacitor (without the flammable ingredients)

A group of researchers have created a fabric-like material electrode that could help make energy storage devices — batteries and supercapacitors — faster and less susceptible to leaks or disastrous meltdowns.

Peel-and-go printable structures fold themselves

As 3-D printing has become a mainstream technology, industry and academic researchers have been investigating printable structures that will fold themselves into useful three-dimensional shapes when heated or immersed in water.