Nanotechnology in paper electronics

The ability to put cutting edge technology on paper—not in words but in a working physical form—has been attracting an increasing number of researchers over the past decade. Paper has many advantages that make it attractive for flexible electronics: it is relatively environmentally benign; it is renewable; it can be recycled; it is light weight; production processes for paper are well advanced; and it is inexpensive. This special issue, with guest editors Ronald Österbacka from Åbo Akademi University in Finland and Jin-Woo Han from the NASA AMES Research Center, features some of the latest in paper electronics research, including developments towards applications in displays, sensing and alternative energy sources, as well as fundamental studies to further our understanding of how paper can be most effectively used in electronics. As Andrew Steckl and colleagues in the US point out, 'Cellulose-based paper substrates were implemented as an electronic substrate as early as...

Anna Demming, Professor Ronald Österbacka and Dr Jin-Woo Han

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