MIT researchers discovered a way to print electronics components along with transistors without using semiconductors. The new 3D print method could open up 3D electronic printing as it dramatically reduces the cost of production.
Luis Fernando Velazquez-Garcia, principal scientist on the project, said of their discovery, “We saw that this is something that can help take 3D printing equipment to the next level. This method offers a clear way to provide a certain degree of “intelligence” to an electronic device. The reality is that there are many engineering situations that don’t require the best chips. At the end of the day, all you care about is whether your device can perform the task. This technology is capable of meeting some of the “constraints.”
MIT accidentally invented 3D printing of simple electronics without semiconductors – ITC
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Researchers at MIT have unexpectedly found a way to make transistors and other electronics components without using semiconductors.
The main problem with 3D printing electronics is that semiconductor elements consist of thin layers of silicon and are extremely fragile. Their functionality can be affected by dust, temperature, and humidity. Therefore, the chips are created in clean rooms where all factors are strictly controlled to ensure that the chips work accurately.
Modern chip design is extremely complex: they consist of billions of transistors and are manufactured using nanometer-scale technology. This process is much more precise than the capabilities of modern 3D printers allow.
The MIT scientists didn’t actually try to reproduce modern chips or even think about something like this — the opportunity arose almost by accident. Earlier this year, they made magnetic inductor coils using a process called extrusion printing — where a printer melts filament and sprays the material through a nozzle, making the object layer by layer.