Prizewinning Printed Electronics
With the “T-Book”, Chemnitz University’s Institute for Print and Media Technology and the ARKEMA Piezotech company won at the “OE-A Competition 2018”
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Printed speakers have been integrated into the pages of the T-Book. They can be used to tell a story or play a sound to accompany the images. Photo: Georg C. Schmidt
This year‘s LOPEC – the International Exhibition and Conference for the Printed Electronics Industry – was held from March 3-15, 2018 in Munich. On March 14, the Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University of Technology and ARKEMA Piezotech took home the “Public Choice Award” of the “OE-A Competition 2018”. ARKEMA Piezotech is a company based in France and is a research partner of the Institute for Print and Media Technology. The OE-A (Organic and Printed Electronics Association) considered 17 submissions from nine countries and according to five award categories. Among these was the “T-Book” from Chemnitz – a colorfully printed book whose pages can play sounds and recorded speech.
The book’s pages are made of highly-innovative loudspeaker paper, sometimes referred to as tone paper (shortened: T-paper). This special paper was developed by a team led by Prof. Dr. Arved Hübler. “In this case, we print two layers of conductive organic polymers, which act as electrodes, onto ordinary sheets of paper or foil,” explains the Head of the Professorship of Printed Media Technology at Chemnitz University. A piezoelectric layer is sandwiched between the organic electrodes, which functions as the active element used transfer vibrations to the paper or foil. Loud and clear sound is then created via air displacement. Both sides of the loudspeaker paper can be printed in color and can be bound into a normal book and the necessary electronic components can be concealed in the book cover. Printed speakers can be used for a variety of purposes, including in photo albums or instruction manuals.
“We are delighted that we were able attract so much interest from exhibition and conference guests at LOPEC. The Public Choice Award is especially valuable for us, because it shows us that our research has a close connection to potential applications and that we have really been able to reach customers with our printed electronics,” says Dr. Georg C. Schmidt of the Institute for Print and Media Technology.
Project Website: www.tpaper.de
Contact: Prof. Dr. Arved C. Hübler, Institute for Print and Media Technology at Chemnitz University, Tel.: +49 371 531-23610, E-mail: pmhuebler@mb.tu-chemnitz.de, and Dr. Georg C. Schmidt, Tel.: +49 371 531-35175, E-mail: georg.schmidt@mb.tu-chemnitz.de
(Translation: Sarah Wilson)
Matthias Fejes
28.03.2018
