Flexible Printed Circuits
Printed organic electrochemical transistors for multiplexing and switching applications developed on the WEARPLEX project.
Research
The Centre for Flexible Electronics and E-Textiles undertakes research spanning fundamental materials, processing technologies, system design and assembly through to enabling innovative applications. As well as undertaking world leading research, the Centre also manages the UK's E-Textiles Network bringing academic and industrial researchers together to address challenges and disseminate solutions. To find out more about the Network and to join please visit https://e-textiles-network.com/.
Research Areas
Soft Smart Materials
Smart functionality can be achieved with electroactive polymers, printable flexible piezoelectric films and soft ferroelectret materials based on foams, novel polymers and textiles.
Textile-Based Energy Storage
Textile structures provide and excellent scaffold for supercapacitors and batteries to be integrated with the fabric.
Printed Functional Inks for E-Textiles
A suite of co-compatible low temperature inks have been developed during the Microflex project for use on textiles.
Textile-Based Energy Harvesting
Powering E-Textiles is a challenge. We have developed numerous techniques for harvesting ambient energy as an alternative integrated power supply.
Integrated Electronics in Textiles
Flexible filament circuits with a patent pending packaging approach for integrated within yarns and textiles (FETT Project).
Flexible RF Antennas
Research covering the design, fabrication and testing of antennas and systems for RF energy harvesting and communication across a range of frequency bands.
Green Electronics
Centre members are involved in a collaborative project with ARM looking at the design, materials and manufacture of printed and flexible electronics in order to aid re-use or ensure biodegradability.
Applications and Systems
Printed Electrodes for Biosignal Sensing and Stimulation
Printed dry carbon electrodes have been developed and applied to wearable applications for monitoring ECG, EMG and EEG and Functional Electrical Stimulation
Flexible RFID Based Condition Monitoring
RFID technology removes the need for localised power supply. Captured energy enables the remote sensing a wide variety of environmental parameters including temperature and ice formation.
Textile Power Modules
A variety of textile based energy harvesting techniques have been combined with textile supercapacitors in the same fabric providing a textile power module able to replace batteries.
Smart Bandage for Wound Monitoring and Treatment
Flexible sensor circuits combined with UV wavelength light emitting cells provide both wound monitoring and treatment integrated invisibly within an otherwise typical bandage.
Wave Energy Converters
Development of novel high-performance polymers to harness ocean waves: the pilot “S3” Wave Energy Converter (WEC) will be deployed in Monaco waters and feed energy directly into the power grid.