O trabalho desta dissertação versou sobre avanços em tecnologias de eletrônica impressa de baixo custo. Em particular, aplicamos as técnicas de impressão por serigrafia e por jato de tinta para confeccionar dispositivos eletrônicos e optoeletrônicos. O primeiro dispositivo construído foi resistências impressas por jato de tinta tendo como matérias primas o poli(3,4-etileno dióxido tiofeno) com sulfonato de poliestireno (PEDOT:PSS) e nanopartículas de prata sobre substratos de vidro. Os valores das resistências foram analisados em se variando parâmetros de impressão. Como segundo dispositivo, imprimimos pela técnica de serigrafia sobre vidro e kapton, antenas de cartões de RFIDs (Radio-Frequency Identifications), também com os dois materiais: tinta de prata e PEDOT:PSS. Os RFIDs foram projetados para operar em frequências entre 860 MHz e 960 MHz. A antena de PEDOT:PSS mostrou alcance de 0,45 m, enquanto que a de tinta prata teve alcance de 1,6 m em 860 MHz e de 4 m em 960 MHz. Fabricamos também células eletroquímicas emissoras de luz (Organic Light Emitting Electrochemical Cells - OLECs), no qual substituímos o eletrodo transparente de óxido de índio (ITO), por um feito de PEDOT:PSS, aplicado por serigrafia sobre vidro. A camada ativa da célula luminescente foi feita por uma mistura de óxido de polietileno complexado com sal de lítio e um polímero luminescente derivado de polifluoreno que emite no verde. As curvas características de corrente e luminância em função da voltagem externa aplicada mostrou o bom desempenho das células fabricadas. Finalmente, produzimos células fotovoltaicas orgânicas, em que o eletrodo transparente, também de PEDOT:PSS, foi depositado por serigrafia sobre vidro. A camada ativa nesse caso foi um sistema bifásico feito de poli(3hexiltiofeno) (P3HT) e um éster, o [6,6]-fenil-C61-ácido metil-butírico (PCBM). Esse dispositivo apresentou um Fator de Preenchimento de 0,47 e uma eficiência externa de aproximadamente 2%. / The work developed along this thesis presents advances in printed electronic technologies of low cost. In particular we applied printable serigraphic and Inkjet technologies to produce electronic and optoelectronic devices. First, we produced resistances having poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) poly(styrenesulfonate) (PEDOT:PSS) and silver paint as active materials, using an Inkjet printer on glass substrate. We made studies of the resistance performance varying some printed parameters. Then, by serigraphy screen printing was printed, on substrates of kapton and glass, an antenna in an Radio-Frequency Identification card (RFID), also from PEDOT:PSS and from silver paint. This RFID was projected to operate in a frequency range from approximately 860 MHz to 960 MHz. The antenna made of PEDOT:PSS operated in a distance of 0.45 m, while that of silver varied from 1.6 m at 860 MHz to 4 m at 960 MHz. In an Organic Light Emitting Electrochemical Cell (OLEC) we applied one of the electrodes, a PEDOT:PSS layer, as a transparent electrode by serigraphy on glass substrate for made to replace of ITO. The active layer was a mixture of a poly(ethylene oxide) complexed with lithium salt and a derivative of polyfluorene that is a green emitter. The characteristic curves of current and luminance against the applied external voltage assured us the good performance of the device. Similar result was obtained with the performance of an organic photovoltaic (OPV), in which the active layer was a biphasic system made by poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester (PCBM), in which the transparent electrode (PEDOT:PSS) was also printed by serigraphy on glass substrate. In this device we obtained a Fill Factor of 0.47 and an external efficiency of almost 2%.

Abstract The aim of this thesis is to study whether nanostructured particles of WO3 could be competitive counterparts of traditional, more bulky materials in resistive gas sensor applications. Pristine and various surface decorated derivatives of three different types of WO3 nanoparticles applied on the surface of lithographically defined Si chips were used in the work to analyse the electrical behaviour of thin films when exposed to different gas atmospheres. Nanosized particles of WO3, obtained by capillary force-induced collapse of porous anodic tungsten oxide in water, were demonstrated as a sensing medium for the detection of H2 and NO analytes. Commercially available nanoparticles of WO3 were also studied. After decorating their surface with metal/metal oxide nanoparticles (Ag, PdOx and PtOx), stable aqueous dispersions were made and used for the inkjet printing of conductive patterns on test chips. Surface decoration was found to affect substantially the gas response behaviour of the materials with the largest differences in response to H2 and NO. The third type of tungsten oxide applied consisted of hydrothermally synthesized nanowires that were also surface decorated with PdO as well as with PtOx. The nanowires were suspended in water and drop cast on test chips for gas sensing measurements. The nanowire based devices allowed ultrasensitive detection of H2 even at room temperature. The results summarized in this thesis indicate that resistive gas sensors based on nanostructured tungsten oxides are excellent alternatives to existing devices utilizing porous thick films or bulky thin films. Their high sensitivity, low operating temperature and low electrical power consumption may enable the construction of portable sensors, for example by inkjet printing, thus having great potential for fast prototyping but also for large scale production at low cost. / Tiivistelmä Väitöstyön tavoitteena on tutkia nanorakenteisten WO3 hiukkasten kilpailukykyä suhteessa perinteisiin suuremman kidekoon materiaaleihin resistiivisissä kaasusensorisovelluksissa. Työssä tutkittiin kolmella eri tekniikalla valmistettujen WO3 nanopartikkeleiden alkuperäisistä ja pintakäsitellyistä versioista muodostettujen ohutkalvojen sähköisiä ominaisuuksia erilaisten kaasukehien funktiona. Veden kapillaarivoimien aikaan saaman huokoisen anodisen volframioksidirakenteen romahduksen kautta saatujen WO3 nanopartikkeleiden osoitettiin toimivan havaintoväliaineena H2 ja NO kaasuille. Myös kaupallisia WO3 nanopartikkeleita tutkittiin. Partikkelien pinta päällystettiin metalli- ja metallioksidinanopartikkeleilla (Ag, PdOx and PtOx), jonka jälkeen niistä muodostettiin vakaita vesipohjaisia seoksia johtavien kuvioiden mustesuihkutulostukseen testisubstraateille. Pintakäsittelyn havaittiin vaikuttavan merkittävästi materiaalien kaasuvasteisiin erityisesti H2:n ja NO:n tapauksessa. Kolmannen tyyppinen väitöskirjassa tutkittu volframioksidimateriaali koostuu hydrotermisesti syntetisoiduista nanojohdoista, jotka ovat pintakäsitelty PdO tai PtOx nanopartikkeleilla. Nanojohdot sekoitettiin veteen ja pipetoitiin testisubstraateille kaasumittauksia varten. Tämän tyyppiset kaasusensorit olivat erityisen herkkiä H2 kaasulle jopa huoneenlämmössä. Väistökirjan tulosten mukaan nanorakenteiset volframioksidimateriaalit ovat erinomainen vaihtoehto perinteisille huokoisille paksukalvoille ja suhteellisen paksuille ohutkalvoille kaasusensorisovelluksissa. Niiden suuri herkkyys, alhainen toimintalämpötila ja matala sähkönkulutus voivat mahdollistaa kannettavien kaasusensorien valmistuksen, esimerkiksi mustesuihkuteknologilla, nopeaan testaukseen ja suuren mittakaavan tuotantoon alhaisin kustannuksin.

Abstract In this thesis several novel inks based on dry inorganic powders enabling magnetic, piezoelectric and memory resistive (memristive) function were researched for printed electronics applications. Low curing temperature screen–printable magnetic inks for high frequency applications based on dry cobalt nanoparticles were developed in the first part of the work. Three publications were achieved. The first one concentrated on ink formulation and its process development, the second on the utilization of multifunctional surfactant, and the third on the development of the inks for plastic substrates. The magnetic inks developed were cured at 120 °C. The electrical performance, microstructure, surface quality and mechanical durability of printed and cured layers were investigated. Relative permeability values up to 3 and related loss tangents up to 0.01 were achieved at 2 GHz frequency, as well as a pull–off strength of up to 5.2 MPa. The maximum loading level of cobalt nanoparticles was 60 vol–%, after which the stability of the ink started to degrade. The developed ink enabled the miniaturization of a patch antenna. In the second part of the thesis, the formulation of inks based on piezoelectric ceramic particles in powder form with ferroelectric polymers as a matrix material is introduced. The performance and quality of the printed inks and cured layers were investigated. The measured pull off –strength was up to 3.25 MPa, relative permittivity was up to 48 at 1 kHz and piezoelectric constant d31 up to 17 pm/V. The printed piezoelectric layer can be utilized in a pressure sensor. In the third part of the thesis, the development of inks for a novel printed memory component, a memristor, is researched. A synthesis route was developed for an organometallic precursor solution, which was formulated into inkjet–printable form. The printing tests were carried out in order to find the most feasible layer thickness with memristive behaviour. The influence of substrate materials and different thermal treatments on the components’ electrical properties, durability of read/erase –cycles and overall lifetime were also investigated. The prepared memristive patterns remained functional for up to 35 days, while the precursor solution remained usable for over a year. The memristive areas withstood up to 30 read/erase cycles and by utilizing heat treatments the shift in resistance value increased by up to three orders of magnitude. / Tiivistelmä Väitöstyössä kehitettiin epäorgaanisten kuivien jauhemaisten materiaalien pohjalta magneettisia, pietsosähköisiä ja memristiivisiä musteita käytettäviksi painettavan elektroniikan sovelluksissa. Työn ensimmäisessä osassa tutkittiin korkean taajuuden sovelluksissa käytettävien magneettisten, matalassa lämpötilassa kovetettavien, jauhemaisiin kobolttinanopartikkeleihin perustuvien silkkipainomusteiden valmistamista. Tulokset on esitetty kolmessa julkaisussa, joista ensimmäinen keskittyi musteen formulointiin, toinen monifunktionaalisen surfaktantin hyödyntämiseen ja kolmas musteen kehittämiseen muovialustalle sopivaksi. Työssä kehitettiin 120 °C:ssa kovettuvia musteita, joista valmistettujen kalvojen suhteellisen permeabiliteetin maksimiarvoksi saatiin 3 ja häviöiden minimiarvoksi 0,01 kahden gigahertsin taajuudella. Pull–off –vetotestin tulokseksi saatiin jopa 5,2 MPa. Musteet säilyivät vakaina enimmillään 60 tilavuusprosentin metallipitoisuudella. Kehitettyä mustetta käytettiin tasoantennin miniatyrisoinnissa. Toisessa osassa kehitettiin pietsosähköisiä musteita, jotka pohjautuivat keraamijauheeseen ja matriisimateriaalina toimivaan ferrosähköiseen muoviin. Niistä valmistettujen kalvojen parhaaksi pull off –vetotestin tulokseksi saatiin 3,25 MPa, permittiivisyyden maksimiarvoksi 48 yhden kilohertsin taajuudella ja d31–pietsovakion maksimiarvoksi jopa 17 pm/V. Kehitettyjä painettuja rakenteita voidaan käyttää painettavissa paineantureissa. Kolmannessa osassa kehitettiin uudentyyppinen painettava muistikomponentti, memristori ja komponenttien valmistamiseksi uusi prekursoriliuoksen synteesi. Syntetisoitu liuos muokattiin mustesuihkutulostettavaksi. Painokokeiden avulla selvitettiin materiaalin paksuus, jolla saatiin aikaan muistivastukselle ominainen memristiivinen käyttäytyminen. Työssä tutkittiin substraattimateriaalien ja mahdollisten lämpökäsittelyjen vaikutusta komponenttien sähköisiin ominaisuuksiin, luku/kirjoitussyklien kestoon sekä käyttöikään. Valmistetut memristiiviset kalvot säilyivät toimivina 35 vuorokautta ja prekursoriliuos yli vuoden. Memristiiviset pinnat kestivät jopa 30 luku/kirjoitussykliä ja vastusarvon muutos saatiin lämpökäsittelyllä kolmea kertaluokkaa suuremmaksi.

In this thesis, new all-printed capacitors are developed for the applications of energy storage, filter, and resonant circuits by using new dielectric material and an advanced technology. The innovative devices provide satisficing electrical performances with high breakdown voltages and capacitance densities. The main body of this thesis is divided in three parts. The first part is to introduce the fundamental background of printing technologies, electrical capacitors and printable materials. Among all the printing technologies, direct writing family is the most advantageous in the small-scale and fast production of printed electronics due to the properties of masterless processing, digital control, and print-on-demand. Both inkjet printing and ultrasonic fluid dispensing applied in this work are grouped into the direct writing family. A cross-linkable dielectric material poly(methyl methacrylate)84/(4-benzoylphenyl methacrylate)16 [P(MMA84/BPMA16)] exhibits the optimized chemical and mechanical stabilities in comparison with uncross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoro ethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] exhibits a high dielectric constant of 16. The great advantages of both polymeric dielectrics make them ideal for printed electronics. The second part is devoted to the preparation of printed thin-film capacitors by providing four different layouts and architectures for multiple electronic applications. The printing setup, process setting and steps are summarized in detail. The following part which is the major content of this thesis is divided into two aspects: in the first aspect, the intriguing new form of continuous solution dispensing technology, ultrasonic fluid dispensing, is demonstrated as an alternative printing technology for the commonly applied ones. In comparison with the widely-used inkjet printing, continuous solution dispensing is the most advantageous in thin-film capacitor processing with metal nanoparticle and polymer dielectric inks. It enables precise pattern transfers with low surface roughness, small feature size (as small as 5 μm), and accurate positioning (5 μm resolution). Most importantly, problems due to discrete droplets and nozzle clogging in inkjet printing are avoided in continuous solution dispensing. All the inks applied for printed capacitors in this work are printed successfully with this innovating technology. Direct printing on demand and rapid switching among different inks are some other attributes of this printing technology that enable high throughput. The second aspect of this part is to characterize and evaluate the fabricated capacitors. The measured values include capacitor dimension, dielectric strength, capacitance density, energy density, charge/discharge behavior and so on. In summary, this work provides not only the use of the advantageous materials P(MMA84/BPMA16) and P(VDF-TrFE) in high-performance capacitors, but also paves the way of developing thin-film capacitors with a new continuous solution dispensing technology which makes the low-cost and high-quality manufacture of printed devices possible.

L’objectif de ce travail était de concevoir et réaliser par impression un capteur acoustique capacitif résonant bas coût. Il s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un projet collaboratif de recherche intitulé « Spinnaker », défini par la société Tagsys RFID qui souhaite intégrer ce capteur afin d’améliorer la géolocalisation des étiquettes RFID. Ce travail a débuté par la conception et l’optimisation du design en utilisant la simulation par éléments finis (COMSOL) ainsi que des plans d’expériences (DOE : Design of Experiment). Cette première étape a permis de déterminer les paramètres optimaux et démontrer que les performances obtenues étaient conformes aux spécifications. Nous avons ensuite développé les différentes briques technologiques nécessaires à la réalisation des prototypes en utilisant conjointement l’impression 2D par inkjet et l’impression 3D. Nous avons vérifié la fonctionnalité de ces capteurs à l’aide de mesures électriques capacitives et acoustiques par vibrométrie laser. Nous avons démontré la sélectivité en fréquence des capteurs réalisés et comparé les résultats expérimentaux à ceux obtenus par simulation. Enfin, nous avons enfin exploré la « voie piezoélectrique » qui nous semble être une alternative intéressante au principe capacitif. En l’absence d’encre piézoélectrique commerciale imprimable par jet de matière, nous avons formulé une encre imprimable à base du co-polymère PVDF-TrFE et démontré le caractère piézoélectrique des couches imprimées. Les résultats sont prometteurs mais des améliorations doivent encore être apportées à cette encre et au procédé d’impression avant de pouvoir fabriquer des premiers prototypes. / The objective of this work was to design and fabricate a low cost resonant capacitive acoustic sensor using printing techniques. It falls within the frame of a collaborative research project named “Spinnaker”, set up by TAGSYS RFID, a French company, which has planned to integrate this sensor to improve the geolocalization of their RFID tags. This work started with the design and optimization of the sensor using finite element modeling (COMSOL) and design of experiments (DOE). This first step has enabled the identification of the optimum set of parameters and demonstrated that the output responses were in accordance with the specifications. Then, we have developed the different technological building blocks required for the fabrication of the prototypes using jointly the 2D inkjet printing technique and 3D printing method. The functionality of the sensors has been characterized using both capacitive and acoustic measurements using laser Doppler vibrometer. Experimental results showed that sensitivity and selectivity were within the specifications and in good agreement with the modeling results. Finally, we investigated the piezoelectric approach which could be an interesting option to the capacitive one. Since no inkjet printable piezoelectric ink is commercially available, stable inkjet printable polyvinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene (PVDF-TrFE) ink has been developed. PVDF-TrFE layers were then successfully printed and characterized. The results were quite promising, however further improvements of the ink and printing process are required before stepping towards piezoelectric based device fabrication.

A tecnologia dos semicondutores inorgânicos tem dominado a indústria eletrônica por muitos anos. No entanto, com a descoberta dos polímeros condutores um esforço considerável tem sido dedicado ao estudo e às aplicações tecnológicas desses materiais em dispositivos eletrônicos, dando início a um novo ramo da eletrônica: a Eletrônica Orgânica (EO). Uma das grandes vantagens da EO reside nos métodos de processamento. Os materiais orgânicos são facilmente processados em solução, portanto permite o uso de diversas técnicas de deposição, como por exemplo, as técnicas de impressão. Dentre as técnicas de impressão, a jato de tinta é a que mostra ser mais adequada à impressão de circuitos. Ela permite depositar volumes de soluções (ou suspensões) da ordem de picolitros em cada gota mantendo padrões bem definidos. Além disso, elimina o uso de máscaras, ocasionando diminuição nos custos e desperdício de material e, por ser um método de deposição tipo não-contato, minimiza possíveis contaminações. Esta tese dedicou-se, dentro desse contexto, ao domínio da técnica de jato de tinta para a confecção de transistores de efeito de campo orgânico (OFETs) tipo p e tipo n, e com aplicação em um inversor lógico unipolar. Os OFETs impressos usaram a arquitetura top gate/bottom contact (TG/BC. Os filmes semicondutores foram formados por várias linhas impressas sobre a região dos eletrodos fonte e dreno. Para os OFETs tipo p foi utilizado o semicondutor Poli(3-hexiltiofeno) régio-regular (rr-P3HT). Foram fabricados OFETs tipo p com a impressão de linhas utilizando os quatro diferentes padrões de deposição da impressora Autodrop. OFETs tipo p com mobilidade em torno de 3x10-3 cm2/V.s e razões Ion/Ioff da ordem de 103 foram obtidos utilizando um padrão de deposição paralelo e outro perpendicular a fonte e dreno. Para os OFETs tipo n o semicondutor usado foi o Poli{[N,N\'-bis(2-octildodecil)-naftaleno-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximida)-2,6-diil]-alt-5,5\'-(2,2\'-bitiofeno)]} (P(NDI2OD-T2)). Dentre os OFETs tipo n impressos os melhores apresentaram mobilidades em torno de 10-2 cm2/V.s e razões Ion/Ioff de aproximadamente 5x102. Ambos os OFETs impressos foram aplicados em inversores lógicos digitais unipolares com ganhos maiores que 1. / The technology of inorganic semiconductors has dominated the industry of electronics for many years. However, since the discovery of conductive polymers considerable effort has been devoted to studies and technological applications of these materials in electronic devices, starting a new branch of electronics: Organic Electronics (OE). One of the great advantages of OE lies in the processing methods. The organic materials are easily handled in solution, thus allows the use of various deposition techniques, as for example the printing techniques. Among the techniques of printing, inkjet is showing to be more suitable for printing circuits. It allows you to deposit solutions (or suspensions) volumes on the order of picoliters in each drop, performing well-defined patterns. Furthermore, it eliminates the use of masks, resulting in reduced costs and material waste. This thesis is dedicated to the field of inkjet technique, specifically for the fabrication of organic field-effect transistors (OFETs), p-type and n-type, and application in a unipolar logic inverter. Printed OFETs used architecture top gate/bottom contact (TG/BC). The semiconductor films were formed by several printed lines on the region of the source and drain electrodes. For p-type OFETs we used poly (3-hexylthiophene ) regio-regular (rr-P3HT) as semiconducting material. The p-type OFETs were fabricated using the four different patterns of deposition of the printer Autodrop. These OFETs showed mobility around 3x10-3 cm2/V.s and Ion/Ioff ratio of the order of 103 for the deposition pattern parallel and perpendicular to source and drain. For the n-type OFETs the semiconductor used was Poly{[N,N\'-bis(2-octyldodecyl)-naphthalene-1,4,5,8-bis(dicarboximide)-2,6-diyl]-alt-5,5\'-(2,2\'-bithiophene)]} (P(NDI2OD-T2)). Among the printed n-type OFETs the best showed mobility around of 10-2 cm2/V.s and Ion/Ioff ratio of the order of 5x102. Both printed OFETs were applied in unipolar digital logic inverters, with gains greater than 1.

This diploma thesis is studing the possibilities of influencing the optoelectric properties of printed light emitting panels, which work on the principle of electroluminescence excited by alternating electric field. The aim of this worrk is to monitor the influence od dielectric properties of electroluminescent phosphor binder on the targeted electroluminescence. In the theoretical part of this thesis, there are described principles of electroluminescence, suitable materials methods of characterization and preparation of panels using printing techniques. Experiment part contains electrical characterization of selected binders to determine their dielectric constants. Subsequently, printing pastes were formulated in different weight ratios of binder electroluminescent phosphor and model light-emitting panels were prepared. Optoelectric characterization was used to determine the change in irradiance. It was found that the dielectric properties of the binder significantly affect the resulting irradinace. It has same irradiance for a smaller amount od phosphor than with the binder with a low dielectric constant. The finding of this work can be used to improve the luminosity at the electroluminescent panels.

Organické elektronické zariadenia sú vyvíjané ako vhodné riešenia senzorov pre bioelektroniku, a to najmä kvôli dobrej biokompatibilite organických polovodičov v nich použitých. Takzvané biosenzory dokážu premeniť elektrochemické procesy na elektronický signál. Matrica takýchto biosenzorov môže simultánne skenovať množstvo biologických vzoriek, alebo rôznych tkanív v živých systémoch. Aktívnou súčasťou zariadenia je organický elektrochemický tranzistor (OECT). V tejto práci je diskutovaný teoretický rámec fungovania takéhoto zariadenia, jeho elektrická charakterizácia, aplikácia v biosenzoroch na báze buniek, spôsoby výroby a aktuálnym stavom techniky v oblasti organickej elektroniky. Experimentálna časť obsahuje konkrétne výrobné postupy vývoja OECT zariadení, ktoré boli použité v našom laboratóriu. Hlavný dôraz sa kladie na schopnosť vyrobených zariadení detekovať reakciu a monitorovať stimuláciu elektrogenných buniek. Za týmto účelom boli vyvinuté matice mikroelektródových OECT zariadení založených na polovodivom polyméri PEDOT:PSS. Tieto boli vyrobené s využitím bežnými tlačiarenských techník (atramentová tlač a sieťotlač) spolu so štandardnými litografickými postupmi. Najnovšie nami vyvinuté zariadenia dosahujú najväčšieho zosílením signálu, g = 2,5 mS a časovú konštantu t = 0,15 s. Tieto zariadenia sú porovnateľné, často dokonca lepšie ako niektoré iné najmodernejšie a plne litograficky pripravené senzory.

In this thesis, new all-printed capacitors are developed for the applications of energy storage, filter, and resonant circuits by using new dielectric material and an advanced technology. The innovative devices provide satisficing electrical performances with high breakdown voltages and capacitance densities. The main body of this thesis is divided in three parts. The first part is to introduce the fundamental background of printing technologies, electrical capacitors and printable materials. Among all the printing technologies, direct writing family is the most advantageous in the small-scale and fast production of printed electronics due to the properties of masterless processing, digital control, and print-on-demand. Both inkjet printing and ultrasonic fluid dispensing applied in this work are grouped into the direct writing family. A cross-linkable dielectric material poly(methyl methacrylate)84/(4-benzoylphenyl methacrylate)16 [P(MMA84/BPMA16)] exhibits the optimized chemical and mechanical stabilities in comparison with uncross-linked poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA). Poly(vinylidene fluoride-co-trifluoro ethylene) [P(VDF-TrFE)] exhibits a high dielectric constant of 16. The great advantages of both polymeric dielectrics make them ideal for printed electronics. The second part is devoted to the preparation of printed thin-film capacitors by providing four different layouts and architectures for multiple electronic applications. The printing setup, process setting and steps are summarized in detail. The following part which is the major content of this thesis is divided into two aspects: in the first aspect, the intriguing new form of continuous solution dispensing technology, ultrasonic fluid dispensing, is demonstrated as an alternative printing technology for the commonly applied ones. In comparison with the widely-used inkjet printing, continuous solution dispensing is the most advantageous in thin-film capacitor processing with metal nanoparticle and polymer dielectric inks. It enables precise pattern transfers with low surface roughness, small feature size (as small as 5 μm), and accurate positioning (5 μm resolution). Most importantly, problems due to discrete droplets and nozzle clogging in inkjet printing are avoided in continuous solution dispensing. All the inks applied for printed capacitors in this work are printed successfully with this innovating technology. Direct printing on demand and rapid switching among different inks are some other attributes of this printing technology that enable high throughput. The second aspect of this part is to characterize and evaluate the fabricated capacitors. The measured values include capacitor dimension, dielectric strength, capacitance density, energy density, charge/discharge behavior and so on. In summary, this work provides not only the use of the advantageous materials P(MMA84/BPMA16) and P(VDF-TrFE) in high-performance capacitors, but also paves the way of developing thin-film capacitors with a new continuous solution dispensing technology which makes the low-cost and high-quality manufacture of printed devices possible.

Printed and organic electronics have been intensely researched in the past few years, and their potential low-cost and sustainability benefits combined with their unique form properties makes them interesting from a product design perspective. However, there has been a lack of product design with printed and organic electronics, which has created a gap between research and market. The aim of this thesis is to find an application of printed and organic electronics in a previously unexplored application area. The thesis includes interviews and workshops with relevant actors, a SWOT analysis, and idea generation through brainstorming. It is found that printed and organic traceability tags (RFID/NFC) have the potential to facilitate circular business models in the fashion industry if they are developed to fulfil the identified requirements.  Three concepts of how traceability tags can facilitate rental fashion are developed. The main identified potential benefits for the rental companies are reduced logistics costs and the possibility of data collection. The potentially low cost of printed and organic traceability tags would also enable rental companies with smaller profit margins to implement a digital traceability solution which would help the survival of these companies and accelerate the shift towards circular fashion. These findings contribute with a new possible application of printed and organic electronics. In order to reach the identified benefits, more research on printed and organic traceability tags is needed, as well as a full product development process of the three concepts. To really know whether this and other identified applications of POE could be viable on the market there is a need for economic and performance analysis to determine whether their applications can be successful. Further the authors also see a need for life cycle analyses on all types of POE applications to determine their environmental impact.