Green Energy-Optimised Printed ICs
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Glasgow
Department Name: College of Science and Engineering
Abstract
The "tsunami of electronic waste", which reached more than 53.6 million tonnes in 2019, requires a step-change in the design and fabrication of electronics for disposal, reuse or recycling. The problem is exasperated as during the manufacture of electronics, a significant amount of chemical waste is generated as by-products, and the combined impact of by- and end-products are leading to long term environmental and social damage that will outlast many generations. The issue is growing due to the increasing use of ICT devices which will become more embedded within society. Electronics underpins a lot of these technologies (internet of things (IoT), displays (including VR/XR), smart packaging, etc.) and offers an opportunity to the e-Waste issue by realising electronic systems that inherently have end-of-life (cradle to cradle) solutions built in and thus do not require the same complexity of waste management. As a sector, electronics underpins the growth of vertical sectors (e.g., health, aerospace, manufacturing and retail) and thus drives productivity and growth across virtually all sectors of the UK economy. According to Innovate UK's 'Electech sector' roadmap report, the electronics sector employs >1 million people in the UK in >45k businesses, generating revenue of around £100 billion. The enormous economic potential for end products is backed by authoritative forecasts, e.g., IDTechEx predicts a market for large area electronics of >73 billion USD by 2027. Sustainable electronics is, therefore, central to the UK's future economy, environment, security and society. To this end, a disruptive printed electronics manufacturing platform is imperative that is designed for sustainability but maintains the enabling power and stability of traditional electronics, thus can eventually supplant those traditional electronic formats. The ambition of GEOPIC (Green Energy-Optimised Printed Transient ICs) is to develop one of the world's first high-performance (at par with today's silicon-based electronics) ICs and assemblies, which, at the end of life, will physically disappear/degrade at prescribed times into eco-friendly or reusable end-products. Thus, GEOPIC will achieve the step-change needed towards zero waste. The demonstrator devices and circuits will attain performances that are at par with today's silicon-based electronics but can demonstrate biodegradability, enabling the safe disposal of materials, potentially for reuse. The project will address the urgent need for sustainability in advanced manufacturing as well as help alleviate the problem of electronic waste (e-waste). Thus, GEOPIC will achieve the step-change needed towards zero waste.
Organisations
- University of Glasgow (Lead Research Organisation)
- Quantum Technology Sciences (Collaboration)
- PragmatIC (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Zero Waste Scotland (Project Partner)
- ARM (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency (Project Partner)
- Printed Eelectronics ltd (Project Partner)
- IQE (United Kingdom) (Project Partner)
- National Physical Laboratory (Project Partner)
Publications
Alsulami B
(2024)
Application of large datasets to assess trends in the stability of perovskite photovoltaics through machine learning
in Journal of Materials Chemistry A
Chakraborty M
(2022)
Electronic Waste Reduction Through Devices and Printed Circuit Boards Designed for Circularity
in IEEE Journal on Flexible Electronics
Nogueira G
(2023)
Zero Waste and Biodegradable Zinc Oxide Thin-Film Transistors for UV Sensors and Logic Circuits
in IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices
Orchard J
(2023)
Small signal modulation of photonic crystal surface emitting lasers
in Scientific Reports
Rahmani H
(2023)
Next-Generation IoT Devices: Sustainable Eco-Friendly Manufacturing, Energy Harvesting, and Wireless Connectivity
in IEEE Journal of Microwaves
Description | Presentation at DHSC on eWaste |
Geographic Reach | National |
Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
Impact | DHSC plan to prepare a report by Summer 23 with actions to start in Autumn 23 |
Description | KTP with Epredia |
Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Innovate UK |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 10/2022 |
End | 10/2024 |
Description | KTP with quantum science |
Amount | £250,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Innovate UK |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2023 |
End | 02/2025 |
Description | Colloboration with Quantum Science |
Organisation | Quantum Technology Sciences |
Country | United States |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Established a collaboration around photodiodes |
Collaborator Contribution | Provide support for their photodiode development |
Impact | Led to the support of a PhD and KTP |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Innited presentation at eFutures conference |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Invited presentation on 'sustainable electronic manufacturing' at an eFutures event |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Interview for Nature article |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Interview for "nature outlooks" on an article called "Short-circuiting the electronic-waste crisis" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-03647-y |
Description | Invited presentation at IMAPS - Paignton |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation on "reducing the environmental footprint of electronics" |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Organisational of workshop with C ENSIS/user engagement forum for GEOPIC project |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Organised station of the workshop to identify challenges within the sustainable electronics industry |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://censis.org.uk/2023/02/27/sustainable-electronics-workshop-application-form/ |
Description | Presentation at EMPC - Gothenburg - European Microelectronics and Packaging Workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Presentation on Biodegradable electronics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Presentation at Engineers with Borders (EWB) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | Around 80 students attended a presentation on Sustainable and Biodegradable electronics |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |