Public defence in Chemistry, M.Sc. (Tech.) Liam Gillan

Title of the thesis: Printed Electronics: Oxide/Organic Composite Thin-Film Transistors, and Electrochemical Sweat Sensors

Doctoral student: M.Sc. (Tech.)  Liam Gillan
Opponent: Professor Ronald Österbacka, Åbo Akademi, Finland
Custos: Professor Antti Karttunen, Aalto University School of Chemical Engineering

Conventional electronic devices are typically fabricated using energy intensive and environmentally harmful processes such as vacuum deposition and subtractive etching. In contrast to this, printing methods allow the manufacture of electronics under ambient conditions, with direct additive patterning helping to conserve materials. A broad range of materials can be print patterned, including conductors, insulators, and semiconductors. Therefore, printing methods can produce passive structures such as electrodes for electrochemical sensors, as well as active electronic devices including indium oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs). However, a lack of well performing printable contact materials for indium oxide TFTs challenges the production of fully printed devices. Furthermore, methods are required to improve the optoelectronic response of printed indium oxide TFTs to frequencies lower than blue light, to realize light sensing applications. In addition, scalable production pathways must be developed to enable commercialization of affordable devices, particularly in the case of single use electrochemical sensors. To address these challenges, this thesis research developed indium oxide composites containing small organic molecules as inkjet-printed layers for enhanced photosensitivity to green light, and improved charge injection between indium oxide and inkjet-printed silver contacts. This thesis work also demonstrated the functionalisation of roll-to-roll rotary screen-printed electrodes with sensor chemistry to form single use electrochemical sensor patches for monitoring of sweat for the stress biomarker cortisol and the sports biomarker lactate. The printed electronics technology that was developed during this thesis work could be applied to construct fully printed optoelectronic circuits, and mass manufactured miniature sensors for personalized physiological monitoring.

Thesis available for public display 10 days prior to the defenceYhteystiedot:
M.Sc. (Tech.) Liam Gillan
[email protected] 

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