Wearable sensor tape will tell the tale of explosive blasts
June 6, 2008
Palo Alto Research Center (PARC) is to develop and prototype all-printed, disposable, blast dosimeters under a U.S. Dept. of Defense research project. The technology consists of a flexible, wearable, electronic “tape” that contains sensors to record data associated with exposure to explosive blasts in the battlefield.
The $2 million, 18-month project will use PARC's jet-printing expertise to develop low-cost technologies and processes for fabricating the tape's sensors, memory, and control electronics.
The sensor tape is designed to monitor the intensity and frequency of battlefield explosions. PARC will develop multiple sensors to collect and record data associated with blasts, including shock waves, acceleration, acoustic levels, and light intensities. Comprising small, lightweight patches, the disposable tape will be attached to a soldier's helmet or uniform for a period of one week, then removed to read the data, and discarded.
Mark Bernstein, PARC's president and director, says, "The sensor-tape program is an important next step for PARC to take in the direction of printing high-value, low-cost electronics [...] We believe there are significant future application opportunities for this technology in manufactured packaging, for electro-mechanical sensing, and in a broad range of biomedical scenarios."
PARC also has been innovating in large area electronics for more than 25 years, creating a portfolio of foundational technologies including: amorphous and polycrystalline silicon; inkjet printing of electronic materials; fabrication of flexible backplanes for displays; printed organic electronics; fabrication of active matrix arrays for AMLCD and x-ray detectors; industrial prototype development; and transfer of new technologies to commercial manufacturing enterprises.
At the helm of PARC’s new DARPA sensor-tape program is principal investigator Ana Claudia Arias, area manager of PARC’s Printed Electronic Devices group. Arias, who joined PARC in 2003, holds a doctorate in physics (polymer photovoltaics) from Cambridge Univ. (2001). Arias has ten years of experience in polymer-based electronics and six years of experience in printed electronics, including OLEDs, photovoltaics, and TFTs. She develops self-assembled processes based on polymer blends and integrates materials for all-additive printing of TFT backplanes for large area displays. Prior to joining PARC, Arias served as the materials group leader of Plastic Logic Limited, a startup company in the U.K. that develops flexible printed backplanes for displays.
Palo Alto Research Center’s Large Area Electronics research program, www.parc.com/lae
SOURCE: Photonics-Online; Palo Alto Research Center
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