Speaker 1

Dr Paul Beecher

Senior Research Engineer

Nokia Research Centre, Cambridge

Nokia

paul.beecher@nokia.com

Nokia Morph -
Enabling Novel Conformal Devices
Through Nanotechnology
 Nokia Research Laboratories

Helsinki & Tampere

Berkeley Cambridge
Palo Alto Lausanne
Hollywood Cambridge MA Beijing

India

Africa

NRC Cambridge UK

Academic/Commercial Collaboration

Strategic collaboration with Cambridge University since 2007

1. Academic excellence Nanoscience Centre
2. World class entrepreneurial mind set and technology transfer skills
3. A highly efficient and diverse techno-pole
4. Long established tradition of innovations with global impact

Mission:
• Turn cutting edge science into human compatible solutions.
Strategy:
• Contribute to bio-, cognitive - and nanoscience communities. Electrical Engineering (CAPE)
• Innovate new device, application and service concepts at the interfaces of
these cutting edge research domains.
Basic principles of collaboration:
• Joint research projects in which the researchers of the University and
Nokia work concretely together in the same premise

The Hauser Forum

 NRC Cambridge UK Research Domains

Cognitive systems

How can we bring autonomous Can nanotechnology enable mobile

intelligence into any physical object of the devices, user interfaces and mobile
world by enabling low power computing, Cognitive
Cognitive digital services that are not possible
sensing and communication? devices
devices today?
and
and systems
systems

Affective
Affective UI
UI Bioinformatics
Bioinformatics

Engaging
Engaging concepts
concepts of
of
devices
devices &
& services
services
Nanocomputing
Nanocomputing Diagnostics
Diagnostics

Self
Self assembly
assembly and
and
Energy
Energy future
future manufacturing
manufacturing Biosensors
Biosensors

Nanotechnologies Biotechnologies

New Trends Are Evolving

Flexible, stretchable, thin, transparent conformal devices - enabled by nanotechnology

Context aware device: adapts and transforms its functionality

according to the tasks

Wearable device
• Available always and everywhere
• New intuitive user interface
• Flexible, compliant and even stretchable structures are
needed.
• New power source technologies
• Functional coatings

How can we…

… fabricate and manufacture innovative mechanical structures that can be both

transparent and compliant despite containing electronic and optical functions?

… create a library of reliable and durable functional materials that enables a multitude
of functions on the device surface, e.g., robust surfaces, EM shielding, dirt/water
repellence, antenna integration, optical effects, touch sensors, haptics?
 A Short History of Morph
• Invitation to contribute to Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in April 2007
• Brainstorming in Cambridge in June 2007; Nokia Research Centre,
Nokia Design and University of Cambridge
• First concepts to MoMA in August 2007
• MoMA exhibition in February 2008

What form factors, functionalities and • Input devices

preferred interaction paradigms will make - • Sensors
• Transformable • Cameras
• Intelligent • Transparency
• Personalised • Embedded processors
devices an essential part of the lifestyle of • Displays
2015?
• Stretchable interconnects

reddot best of the best award, 2008

Energy solutions
Flexible battery with higher power
density and faster charging time, Functional surface materials
alternative battery chemistries, Library of surface functions:
photovoltaic and fuel cell energy toughness, dirt repellency, antenna
sources integration, optical effects, EM
shielding, touch sensors, haptics

Integration and customisation

Printable electronics, reel-to-reel,
alternative substrates for Transparency and compliancy
electronics integration Stretchable electronics, flexible displays,
ZnO and CNT networks, polymer
composites with tailored mechanical and
electrical characteristics

Energy efficient computing

Integrated sensors
Alternative computing and signal
Chemical and biochemical
processing paradigms, radio solutions,
sensors, sensor integration into
ultra fast electronics, low cost distributed
structural mechanics, terahertz
electronics

Note: Research concepts only

 Nano Projects
• Nano-enabled Energy
• Sensing Surfaces
• Stretchable Electronics
• Functional Biomaterials
• Nanoporous Hybrid Materials

• Device Architectures
• New signal processing methods/devices
• Self assembled functional materials
• Low cost electronics (Carbon Nanotube networks)

Enhanced Energy harvesting and storage

Four major topics
• Enhanced energy density batteries
– Nanostructured electrodes for very low
equivalent series R energy sources
– New electrolyte solutions (ionic liquids) for safe
and high power batteries. Deformable and
bendable structures.
• Supercapacitors
– Nanoenhanced dielectrics for separator and high Nanostructured carbon
power capacitors
– Ultra thin flexible structures, for ultimately Carbon nanotube (CNT)/ carbon
distributed energy storage, and integration with nanohorn (CNH) layers
Metal foil charge
battery structures collector
• Solar cell research
– Nanowire solar cells using nanowire networks Separator
with Lithium
– Silicon solar cell production for emerging electrolyte
Li foil/ LiCoO2
Metal foil charge
collector
markets as primary power source
• Energy harvesting from RF using wideband
antennas, and using NEMS structures
– Microwatt level energy harvesting from ‘waste’
energy in the air
– Charging battery from ultra low power energy
sources, and power management for that
– Harvesting RF energy with nano electro
mechanical methods
 Multi-functional Surfaces

• Flexible self-cleaning surfaces combining sensing with tactile/haptic UIs.

– Novel robust self-cleaning surfaces with oleo- and hydrophobic behaviour.

– Tactile and Haptic sensing arrays (>10 µm actuation).
– Conformal Flexural sensors

ZnO Nanowires for flexible tactile arrays

• Arrays of aligned zinc oxide nanowires grown

hydrothermally from zinc salt precursor on the
surface of substrates (at roughly 70 – 100 oC)

• Economical and environmentally-friendly

• Compatible with polymer substrates

90 Run1
Control

Characteristics for sensor applications Release

Touch
60
Current [nA]

• Uniaxial piezoelectric response Touch

• Enabler of novel touch sensor concepts 30 Release

• n-type semiconductor behaviour
• Candidate for photovoltaics
• Enables various low-cost applications 0

0 20 40 60
Time [s]
 Nanowire Lithography

Silicon Nanowires for

Stretchable Electronics
Inkjet-printed NW network
Combining top-down 10
-6

fabrication via SOI etching 10

-7

Direct bridge
using masks made of

Drain Current (A)

-8
10
nanowires grown by a 10
-9

bottom-up approach. -10

10
Blue = Si; Grey = SiO2; -11
Percolation
network
10
Yellow = Metal (Ni)
-12
10
-40 -30 -20 -10 0 10 20 30 40
Gate Voltage (V)
Highly-conducting SiNW
networks via nanowire
lithography (NWL): A. Colli,
A. Fasoli, S. Pisana, Y. Fu,
P. Beecher, W. I. Milne, A. C.
Ferrari, Nano Letters 8, 1358
(2008) Controllable Undercut

Stacked NW arrays
for 3D architectures

Stretchable Electronics
Target:
• Creation of stretchable devices
– Embedded active electronics in elastic structures (sensors, actuators, circuitry)
– Ordered nanoscale internal structures for controlling the elasticity
– A pixellated, integrated system to withstand extreme deformations
– Minimal strain on rigid island platforms for sensitive components
– Stretchable electronics structures to allow reconfigurable device form factors.
– Flexible electronics structures (interconnects, circuits and substrates) that Elastomer strain gauge
sustain >10% 2D strain.
 Smart Surface Materials

Target:
Development of a library of functional surface materials

Flexible and transparent multifunctional surface:

– Novel robust self-cleaning surfaces with oleo-

and hydrophobic behaviour
– Tactile sensing array
– Externally controllable colour changes
– Energy harvesting
Non-wetting nanoporous PTFE; self-cleaning
devices - University of Cambridge

Patterned ZnO nanowire arrays for tactile

sensing – U of C / NRC Cambridge UK

Sensing and Computing

• Nanoscale benefits?
– Huge arrays of parallel sensor elements that can be
either independently or collectively measured
– New sensor signal processing paradigm
– New materials that can be used to improve the
sensor characteristics:
• stability, resolution, reliability, or response time.
• Our research focus:
– Nanoresonator based optical sensors
– ZnO nanowire based strain sensors
– New signal processing methods for sensors based
on nanocomputing
• Smart surfaces: huge numbers of nanosensors with
analogue information processing by nanocomputing,
feeding strongly pre-processed data (or the final result)
out

Single ZnO nanowire resonators

 Thank You

The Nanosciences Team, Rymättylä 2008

24/09/2008 Tapani Ryhänen | © Nokia 2008