Fabrication and Characterization of Three-Dimensionally-Printed Light-Emitting Diodes

Abstract

Though three-dimensional (3D) printing has been used to manufacture 3D objects for various applications since the mid 1980s, the technology has only recently begun to be used to manufacture functional devices. Many of the functional devices that have been produced via 3D printing are entirely mechanical, and thus comprised of the same types of passive objects that have been printed for years. With the development of many new metal, polymer and inorganic materials designed specifically for 3D printing, the range of printable devices is quickly expanding. In fact, several essential components of consumer electronic devices were printed in 2013, such as antennas, batteries and loudspeakers. Research into 3D-printed electronics is, however,relatively recent, and full electronic devices that rival those produced by conventional manufacturing techniques have yet to be produced due to the complexity of patterning and material integration required in devices such as cell phones, computers and televisions. In the current project, the field of 3D-printed electronic devices is expanded by printing functional quantum dot light emitting diode devices that incorporate six different materials. These devices had turn-on voltages of 0.6 plus or minus 0.01 V and maximum luminance values of 11.6 cd/m\(^{2}\). The successful printing of these delicate, multi-material electronic devices suggests that 3D-printed LED displays may soon be achieved.