Development and characterisation of lithographically printed voltaic cells

This paper reports progress in thefabrication ofvoltaic cells and batteries via offset lithographic printing. Successful design and manufacture oflithographically printed voltaic cells wouldfacilitate the integration of printedpassive components, interconnects and display elements for disposable electronics in low-volume, low weight circuits and systems. The Conductive Lithographic Film (CLF) printing process was developed by Brunel University to fabricate circuit interconnect and various passive components at high speed and low cost. Afeasibility study, investigatingprinted cells based on Zinc-Carbon electrochemistry, is described. This has resulted in the production ofa printed battery able to power a microcontroller-driven LED display system for more than three hours. Further work seeks to improve cell capacity, address manufacturing process issues, and characterise the structures in more detail.