Sunday, September 05, 2010
   
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LIGHT-ROLLS

Light-Rolls: High-throughput production platform for the manufacture of light emitting components

Light-Rolls project takes care of cost efficient production for light modules

The EC funded project Light-Rolls started by kick-off meeting at 7th and 8th of July 2009. The project focuses research and development of modular based production units for the seamless, high throughput manufacture of micro-structured, polymer based components and microsystems. The scientific objective aims to realize structures in the micron range and integrate also dies to be assembled in high-speed and parallel by benefit of self assembling. Nanoparticle dispersions used in fast conductive track printing technologies will allow the parallel generation of conductive lines.

For the production of microsystems various solutions for high-volume and low-cost production already exist. The purpose of Light-Rolls is not to replace those manufacturing solutions, but to apply basic research results for the development of new manufacturing processes for new science based products in order to enable their cost efficient production and thus to generate potentially disruptive products and production systems. This state-of-the-art describes existing manufacturing solutions, and explains the progress how Light-Rolls enables future production.

The new RMPD®-Rotation module translates the batch oriented RMPD®-mask technology to a seamless Roll-to-Roll production method. Main advantages will be higher throughput than the mask based process, cost efficient manufacture of large area structures, and also an easier, seamless integration into production processes.
Either large area polymer components can be printed in one stream (like light emitting wallpaper) or many small parts will be generated in a seamless, parallel process (e.g. CD-size microfluidic systems, credit card sized lab-on-chip systems, finger nail size micro-titre plate inserts). Shark skin-type surfaces are also possible on large scale.
The Rotation process also allows multi-material processing, i.e., different polymers can be integrated in one part. This enables the integration of 2 or more materials in one part, e.g. with different refractive indices for the realization of waveguides. A second excellent example is the integration of intrinsic hydrophilic and hydrophobic materials in one part for long term stable micro-fluidic chips.
The Rotation system will combine the art in printing with very fast-curing monomers, and depositing very small patterns with a layer-to-layer production, in a Roll-to-Roll type process. This has never been done before.

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More information available on project's webpage.