Facilities
Direct Ink Writing
Professor Jennifer Lewis has pioneered an innovative approach for microscale patterning of planar and three-dimensional structures (feature sizes ranging from ~ 250 nm to 10 mm) via computer-aided design, known as direct ink writing. Prior to the LMI-EFRC, several ink designs had been created, including colloidal, nanoparticle, polymeric, and organometallic precursors. In each case, concentrated inks are produced that are capable of flowing through fine deposition nozzles as continuous filaments, and then rapidly solidifying to maintain their shape even as they span gaps in the underlying layer(s). Since the inception of the LMI-EFRC, ITO and Ag nanoparticle inks have been developed that are being used in a number of projects within the center.
