Organic electronics is a rapidly growing field due to a combination of strong performance from improving materials with the low fabrication cost associated with large area printing technology. Recently, the incorporation into organic electronic technology of natural biomaterials that are renewable and biodegradable is being increasingly investigated with the goal of producing ?green? electronics that is environment-friendly.

In this lecture I will review the use of cellulose-based paper as a material in a variety of electronic (and related) applications, including transistors, light emitting diodes, displays, microfluidics. Paper is a very attractive material for many device applications: very low cost, available in almost any size, versatile surface finishes, portable and flexible. From an environmental point of view, paper is are newable resource and is readily disposable (incineration, biodegradable). Applications of paper-based electronics currently being considered or investigated include biochips, sensors, communication circuits, batteries, smart packaging, electronic displays. The potential advantages of paper-based devices are in many cases very compelling. For example, lab-on-chip devices fabricated on paper for bio/medical applications use the capillary properties of paper to operate without the need of external power sources, greatly simplifying the design and reducing the cost. Specific examples of paper-based devices will be discussed, including organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and field effect transistors (OFET) on flexible and transparent paper, medical diagnostic devices utilizing lateral capillary flow on paper.

Andrew Steckl (Fellow, IEEE and AAAS) received his BS from Princeton and his MS and PhD from the University of Rochester. Since 1988, he has been the Ohio Eminent Scholar & Gieringer Professor of Solid State Electronics at the University of Cincinnati. Current research activities are focused on: organic and biopolymeric materials for photonic and electronic devices; electrofluidicmaterials and devices for nano/bio applications; chem/bio/med smart materials for diagnostics and therapy. Dr. Steckl's research has resulted in 425 publications and over 500 conference presentations. His publications have garnered ~ 10,000 citations in the technical literature, with an h-index of 55. He was awarded the Rieveschl Award for Distinguished Research and Elected Scientific Member of the Bohmische Physikalische Gesselschaft.

Birck Nanotechnology Center

Researchers should cite this work as follows:

• Andrew Steckl (2017), "Circuits on Cellulose: From Transistors to LEDs, from Displays to Microfluidics on Paper," https://nanohub.org/resources/25874.

  BibTex | EndNote

1. biochips
2. biosensors/sensing
3. flexible electronics
4. nanoelectronics
5. nanofluidics
6. organic electronics
7. paper
8. sensors/sensing