PRESS-NEWS.org - Press Release Distribution
PRESS RELEASES DISTRIBUTION

HKUST researchers develop low-cost and multifunctional microprinter for ultrafast piezoelectric material printing

HKUST researchers develop low-cost and multifunctional microprinter for ultrafast piezoelectric material printing
2023-11-09
(Press-News.org)

A research team led by The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) has developed a microprinter that can print piezoelectric films 100 times faster for the production of microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) for sensors, wearable or implantable medical devices, offering the possibility to lower the mass production costs.

The microprinter, built at a comparatively lower cost as compared with other printers on the market, utilizes an electrostatic field to propel streams of ink onto a platform, allowing for efficient manipulation of thin film patterns and enhanced printing speed to address the challenge of mass production and control of structures and feature sizes.

Nanoparticles, films, and patterns are three critical piezoelectric elements with widespread applications in sensing, actuation, catalysis, and energy harvesting. Mass Production of these elements remains a challenge to date as exerting control of these structures and feature sizes on various substrates is a complicated process. Amidst of the ongoing surge in demand for MEMS, wearable/implantable electronics, miniaturized portable devices, and the Internet of Things, the pursuit of piezoelectric materials, thanks to their intrinsical property of coupling mechanical and electrical energy, has become a priority and interest for many.

Until recently, the novel microprinter developed by the HKUST research team has represented a significant step toward ultrafast and large-area additive micromanufacturing of 3D objects with virtually any composition and adjusted microstructure and functionality.

In their experiment, the team led by Prof. YANG Zhengbao, Associated Professor at the Department of  Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at HKUST,  constructed a 3D microprinting mechanism utilizing a spiny disc connected to a needle and a power supply. Once the team creates an electrostatic field that is powerful enough to serve as a propellant, streams of ink would then be cone-jetting onto a platform, forming micro patterns just like how streams of charged droplets are ejected from the tips of raindrops in a thunderstorm.

Through the efforts of the team, the manufacturing speed has been enhanced by a factor of 100, allowing for efficient manipulation of thin film patterns similar to semiconductor lithography. For instance, a 10 μm-thick PZT film on a 4-inch Si wafer can be fabricated in just 10 minutes using the printer, with minimal material wastage. This breakthrough technique is applicable in manufacturing the piezoelectric component inside microphones, clinical ultrasound probes, and thin-film solar panels, with the expectation to reduce the production cost of related products.

“Our microprinter shows printing capability for wide-ranging classes of materials such as dielectric ceramic, metal nanoparticles, insulating polymers, and biological molecules,” Prof. YANG said. “It boasts the fastest speed in existing techniques for piezoelectric micrometer-thick films, and the PZT films we produced demonstrate excellent piezoelectric properties compared to current ones in the market. This new, affordable model of precision printing with features measurable at ~20 μm is surely going to bring benefits to many in the scientific world, and would lead to many breakthroughs that were previously thought impossible.”

Meanwhile, the microprinter has reached a stage where it is prepared for large-scale production, which costs only HKD 6,000, one of the lowest-cost options compared to others available on the market. The team is focused on integrating the printer with roll-to-roll substrate receiving systems to enable potential commercial applications. Additionally, they are actively seeking collaborations with commercial partners to enhance its market presence further.

“Current micromanufacturing technologies cannot achieve high-speed, versatile manufacturing of diversified piezoelectric elements and at the same time allow control of their dimensions, structures, and functionality,” added Prof. Yang. “Additionally, the cost and complexity of manufacturing equipment that enables fabricating micrometer features are prohibitive for large-scale production.”

This study is a collaborative work with City University of Hong Kong. Their findings were recently published in the journal Nature Communications. (https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-023-42159-9).

END


[Attachments] See images for this press release:
HKUST researchers develop low-cost and multifunctional microprinter for ultrafast piezoelectric material printing HKUST researchers develop low-cost and multifunctional microprinter for ultrafast piezoelectric material printing 2 HKUST researchers develop low-cost and multifunctional microprinter for ultrafast piezoelectric material printing 3

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Oregon State to receive $6.5M for federal effort to modernize geospatial coordinate system

Oregon State to receive $6.5M for federal effort to modernize geospatial coordinate system
2023-11-09
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University is one of four institutions selected to advance a federal effort to modernize the National Spatial Reference System, which underpins surveying, mapping, autonomous vehicle navigation, precision agriculture and the rest of the United States’ geospatial economy. OSU will receive $6.5 million over five years from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for research to be conducted by the new Geospatial Center for the Arctic and Pacific, or GCAP. The funding is through NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey and is part of nearly $20 million awarded overall. The other funding ...

The Lancet: Studying medicine, Nazism, and the Holocaust crucial to strengthening medical education and ethics today

2023-11-09
Peer-reviewed/ review, analysis and opinion  The Lancet: Studying medicine, Nazism, and the Holocaust crucial to strengthening medical education and ethics today Most comprehensive report to date on medical atrocities under Nazism and during the Holocaust – and their implications for today – details the central role health professionals played in formulating and carrying out the antisemitic, racist, and inhumane policies and practices during the Nazi regime. The Commission challenges long-held misconceptions about medicine in the Nazi era, including the claim that medical crimes were carried out by only a ...

New study examines long term effectiveness of live shingles vaccine

2023-11-09
The effectiveness of live zoster (shingles) vaccine is highest in the first year after vaccination and then wanes substantially. But it continues to provide some protection against shingles and its complications ten years after vaccination, even in patients with a weakened immune system, finds a study published by The BMJ. Vaccine effectiveness is a measure of how well vaccines work to protect communities in the real world. Herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, is a painful rash caused by reactivation of the chickenpox virus. It’s much more common among people aged 60 and older and those with a weakened ...

Latest results from PHOEBE trial show patients with advanced HER2-positive breast cancer live longer on pyrotinib

2023-11-09
Lisbon, Portugal: Patients with HER2-positive breast cancer that has started to spread to other parts of the body survive for longer if they are treated with a new drug called pyrotinib, according to results from the longest follow-up of the PHOEBE randomised clinical trial in China.   Presenting the latest results at the Advanced Breast Cancer Seventh International Consensus Conference (ABC 7), Professor Xichun Hu, of Fudan University Cancer Hospital, Shanghai, China, said the researchers had been able to analyse data on overall survival from the trial up to March 15, ...

Barnacle bends shape to fend off warm-water sea snails on the move

Barnacle bends shape to fend off warm-water sea snails on the move
2023-11-09
Some barnacles are ‘morphing’ to protect themselves from predatory warm-water sea snails, which are expanding into their territory due to climate change. Research led by the University of Southampton and published in the Journal of Biogeography shows how temperate prey species are adapting to changing water temperatures, which carry the threat of warm-water predators encroaching into their territory. As global sea-surface temperatures rise and the number of marine heatwaves increase under global heating, coastal marine communities are changing. Warm-water predators ...

AI can map giant icebergs from satellite images 10,000 times faster than humans

AI can map giant icebergs from satellite images 10,000 times faster than humans
2023-11-09
AI can map giant icebergs from satellite images 10,000 times faster than humans     Scientists have trained an artificial intelligence (AI) system to accurately map - in one-hundredth of a second - the surface area and outline of giant icebergs captured on satellite images.   It is a major advance on existing automated systems which struggle to distinguish icebergs from other features in the image. Manual - or human - interpretation of the image is more ...

People who contribute least in crowdsourcing can do the most to improve a public good

2023-11-08
Whether talking about the office kitchen, hiking trails or ratings on Yelp, there are always people who put in effort to leave those spaces better. There are also those who contribute nothing to that public good. New research using large-scale online experiments suggests that rewarding people to contribute to a virtual public good, such as a simulated online rating for a ferry system, increased the accuracy of the ratings and improved the overall quality of that resource. The multidisciplinary team, including researchers from the University of California, Davis; Hunter College, College of New York; the Max Planck Institute for ...

1 in 25 carries a genotype that is associated with a shortened lifespan

1 in 25 carries a genotype that is associated with a shortened lifespan
2023-11-08
1 in 25 carries a genotype that is associated with a shortened lifespan Scientists at deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen, have published a study on actionable genotypes detected in the Icelandic population and their association with lifespan. The results of this study are among the things that have motivated the government of Iceland to announce a nationwide effort in precision medicine. As the delivery of precision medicine to a population requires considerable amount of data on genomics, transcriptomics and proteomics of the population, Icelanders are currently exceptionally well suited for ...

Zen and the art of mitochondrial maintenance: The machinery of death makes a healthier life

2023-11-08
While we all aspire for a long lifespan, what is most coveted is a long period of vigor and health, or “healthspan,” that precedes the inevitable decline of advancing age. Researchers at UC Santa Barbara have discovered that instruments of death that cells use to commit suicide when things go wrong contribute to making a longer and healthier life by revitalizing the specialized cellular compartments called mitochondria. Mitochondria generate the energy for all of our activities, from movement to thought. These power plants inside our cells descended ...

MPFI researcher awarded $1.2 Million from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative

MPFI researcher awarded $1.2 Million from Chan Zuckerberg Initiative
2023-11-08
Dr. Vidhya Rangaraju has been named a recipient of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s “Ben Barres Early Career Acceleration Award,” which will provide her lab with $1.2 million over four years to study dysfunctions of brain energy supply.  Dr. Rangaraju is a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience (MPFI). With this award, her lab will investigate the causes of disrupted energy supply in neurons that lead to cognitive decline in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).  ...

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES:

Pavlov’s dogs were conditioned to go to their treat. Why do some animals learn to interact with the bell instead?

Call for Young Editorial Board members at Current Molecular Pharmacology

MSU team develops scalable climate solutions for agricultural carbon markets

Playing an instrument may protect against cognitive aging

UNM study finds link between Grand Canyon landslide and Meteor Crater impact

Ultra-hot Jupiter’s death spiral could reveal stellar secrets

You only get one brain! The best helmet material for protecting your noggin

Neurodegeneration and stroke after GLP-1RAs in diabetes and obesity

Pediatric COVID-19 hospitalization trends by race and ethnicity, 2020-2023

Research spotlight: New genetic roadmap offers insights into obesity and diabetes

Fred Hutch leads new Vanguard Study for Cancer Screening Research Network

‘Mismatched’ transplants now safe, effective for blood cancer patients, study finds

New research helps narrow down uncertainties in near-term precipitation projections for the Asian Water Tower

AI tool accurately detects tumor location on breast MRI

Researchers use OCT imaging to uncover how the fallopian tube transports embryos

PolyU secures RGC theme-based research scheme funding to develop cost-effective and sustainable Co-GenAI model

Van Andel Institute scientists develop technique for high-resolution single cell epigenetic analysis

The Lundquist Institute wins multi-year NIH grant exceeding $11 million to transform diagnosis and treatment of deadly mucormycosis

Review suggests ending adult boosters for tetanus, diphtheria

ESMT Berlin welcomes Rebecca Schaumberg to faculty

Blocking a little-known protein may offer new hope for devastating lung disease

Medieval medicine was smarter than you think – and weirdly similar to TikTok trends

FAU receives NIH grant to investigate amphetamine addiction

Realizing on-site carbon nanotube photo-thermoelectric imaging

Most of us love memes. But are they a form of comics?

Novel biosensor allows real-time monitoring of sucrose uptake in plants

Korea University researchers reveal revealing how WEE1 drives cancer resistance to immunotherapy

Pusan National University researchers develop breakthrough deep learning model that enhances handheld 3D medical imaging

SLAS Discovery and SLAS Technology demonstrate research impact with 2024 impact factors

Disease-causing bacteria can deal with stink as long as they get a meal

[Press-News.org] HKUST researchers develop low-cost and multifunctional microprinter for ultrafast piezoelectric material printing