All News & Publications

All Holst Centre phone numbers have changed

ma, 28, jun, 2010 00:00:00

Please note that all Holst Centre phone numbers have changed since June 28, 2010.

The new general phone number is: +31 (0)40 40 20 400

The new general fax number is: +31 (0)40 40 20 699

Also all direct numbers have changed.

Please ask your contact person(s) at Holst Centre for the correct details or check their e-mail signature over the coming period.

We thank you for updating our contact details in your databases.

InnoPhysics plasma printing from open innovation to market

ma, 19, apr, 2010 00:00:00

InnoPhysics plasma printing technology on its way to market after successful open innovation trajectory with Holst Centre

InnoPhysics B.V., a Dutch startup company from the Vision Dynamics Group, demonstrates a proprietary Digital-on-Demand PlasmaPrint hardware solution that enables software patterned surface functionalization, etching and deposition of functional coatings on thin (plastic) substrates. After successful feasibility studies performed at Holst Centre in the area of flexible electronics such as OLED lighting, InnoPhysics is now developing a go-to-market strategy for the new technology.

Printed electronics is a fast growing market with a large variety of different applications such as RFID tags, organic and polymer LEDs and solar cells. The proprietary InnoPhysics technology solution operates on a large variety of plastic substrates in ambient conditions, at room temperature and it provides flexibility in patterning, i.e. mask-less, which is especially important during the prototyping phase, personalized product solutions and versioning of single products for the flexible and printed organic electronics market. As part of the go-to-market strategy, InnoPhysics is developing a PlasmaPrint toolkit integratable with existing table-top R&D print platforms.

In a joint effort Holst Centre and InnoPhysics have shown the feasibility of surface tension contrast patterning and printing as a valuable technology for the production of energy efficient OLEDs. This successful concept validation has led to a collaboration between Holst Centre and InnoPhysics to further develop the surface tension contrast patterning and printing method and explore a number of new processes to create patterns of functional materials on flexible substrates using the InnoPhysics technology.

Ronn Andriessen, Program Manager Large-Area Printing at Holst Centre: “We are very pleased to see that a young startup company is able to benefit from the collaboration within our open innovation environment. We wish InnoPhysics a successful next step in bringing its technology to the market.”

Alquin Stevens, CTO of InnoPhysics: “The validation of our technology by Holst Centre, as a global research institute in the field of printed electronics, is of vital importance in our first steps towards the market. The collaboration with has resulted in a speed up of application and product development, and the open innovation environment has provided us access to the market and its players.”

PLACE-it makes light flat and flexible

ma, 15, mrt, 2010 00:00:00

Leading companies and institutes in lighting and flexible electronics, including Philips, Holst Centre/TNO, imec, Freudenberg, TU Berlin and more have joined forces to co-develop the route to integrate light into people’s surroundings be it ceilings, walls, floors, furniture, soft furnishings, and even garments. The ultimate aim of this PLACE-it (Platform for Large Area Comformable Electronics by InTegration) initiative is to realize an industrial platform for thin, lightweight and flexible optoelectronics systems that will not only open new dimensions in product design, but will also create unique opportunities for on-body applications in healthcare and wellness.

PLACE-it looks beyond the bulb for lighting applications, optimally exploiting the energy efficient and small form-factor characteristics of new lighting technologies like LEDs and OLEDs (organic LEDs). Imagine a lamp that is not fixed to the ceiling, but can instead be designed in any shape, or even blended into the surroundings, or curtains that emit light to mimic natural daylight conditions. Imagine illuminating jackets for children to safeguard them as they cycle home from school and even bandages that shine light on the body to treat skin diseases. These are just some of the examples of products that could become reality in the near future.

“Until now, large area electronics R&D has been carried out independently for flexible, elastic and fabric based technologies,” says Liesbeth van Pieterson, senior scientist at Philips Research and project leader of PLACE-it. “In the PLACE-it project, foil, elastic and fabric substrate technologies will be systematically co-developed with the common goal of heterogeneous integration.” PLACE-it received €10.9 million funding by the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme. The project aims to realize an industrial platform for lightweight, thin and flexible optoelectronics systems within three and a half years and will:

Develop an integration platform of foil, elastic and fabric optoelectronic technologies.
Create foil, elastic and fabric-based devices for light emission, electronics and sensing.
Formulate industry design guidelines for light-emitting flexible surfaces and textiles.
Build demonstrators of compelling beyond-the-bulb applications.

PLACE-it will share the outcome of the project with third parties and start the dialogue with designers, architects, governments, industry and other stakeholders to discuss the future of comfortable ambient lighting and the requirements/conditions for an industrial platform.

Media Contact: Hans Driessen – Philips Research - Mob: +31 610610417 - Email: hans.driessen@philips.com

New book on Photochemistry and Photophysics of Polymeric Materials

ma, 01, mrt, 2010 00:00:00

Marius Ivan, Advanced Materials Project Leader at Holst Centre, has contributed to a new book about polymeric materials. Entitled ‘Photochemistry and Photophysics of Polymeric Materials’ the book is published by Wiley, one of the leading publishers of scientific and technical information.

Marius is co-author of a chapter on ‘Photoimaging and Lithographic Processes in Polymers’. The book analyzes and presents the current understanding of polymer photochemistry and photophysics technology. Each chapter covers a specific topic and is written by one or more leading experts and pioneers in the field. In addition to covering all the latest findings and developments, the book also includes personal insights and perspectives of the authors.

A complete picture of the current state of knowledge on this subject, the book makes a perfect foundation for research and development of new materials and applications. It can be ordered from various online bookstores (ISBN: 978-0-470-13796-3).

Summer school on organic optoelectronics

ma, 01, mrt, 2010 00:00:00

Covering the theme ‘Organic optoelectronics on the move’, the VII International Krutyn Summer School is being organized as part of the FP7 Collaborative Projects: Fast2Light and OLED100.eu, in association with the Polish Supramolecular Chemistry Network and the Institute of Physical Chemistry of the Polish Academy of Sciences.

The summer school will be held in the village of Krutyn, in the Masurian Lake District of Poland from 22-28 June 2010. Offering state-of-the-art training, including lectures and consulting sessions delivered by top experts, the course will help Ph.D. students and young researchers reinforce their knowledge and skills in the field of molecular optoelectronics.

Paul Blom, Scientific Director Systems-in-Foil at Holst Centre is one of the members of the International Scientific Advisory Board for the course. Edward Young, Principal Researcher in the Holst Centre Program on Organic Lighting and Signage is one of the invited speakers. Holst Centre is also the coordinator of the Fast2Light project which aims to develop innovative, cost-effective, high-throughput, roll-to-roll, large area deposition processes for fabricating light-emitting polymer-OLED foils for intelligent lighting applications.

For all details and registration: visit the summer school webpage.

See also

Thesis prize for Holst Centre student

di, 16, feb, 2010 00:00:00

Yahya Yassin has been awarded a prize of 15,000 NOK (~1,850 euros) by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) for his thesis on an ‘Ultra Low Power Application Specific Instruction-set Processor Design for a Cardiac Beat Detector Algorithm’. Yahya’s thesis was based on research he performed from January to June 2009 while working at Holst Centre.

Holst Centre’s undergraduate program gives masters and PhD students an opportunity to make real contributions to the technologies being developed in its programs. Working within the Ultra low power DSP group at Holst Centre, Yahya designed a low power processor to run an algorithm for detecting heartbeat disorders.

Tough deadlines
The prestigious NTNU award has some very challenging requirements, for the submission of thesis and a strict deadline within which the student must complete his thesis. Yahya also faced tough deadlines at Holst Centre, having to develop the processor from scratch in just six months.
“I hoped to learn some hardware design, but was able to go much further than I could ever have imagined,” said Yahya. “My colleagues at Holst Centre really triggered my motivation and made me realize that with the right motivation, anything is possible.”

Well deserved award
“Yahya was a very hard worker. He occasionally had to be reminded to go home at the end of a long evening”, said Jos Hulzink, Yahya’s mentor on the project. “His design work will be used to develop a real solution and some of the suggestions he made will be used to further optimize the software algorithm. He did an excellent job here at Holst Centre and the prize reflects this.”

Yahya was presented with a plaque and the check at the NTNU Electronics and Telecom day in Trondheim in January 2010 and celebrated his success with a fine bottle of champagne. Having completed his degree, he is now working as a hardware design engineer at Atmel.

Analog organic electronic ADC on flexible foil (ISSCC2010)

di, 09, feb, 2010 00:00:00

At today’s International Solid State Circuit Conference (ISSCC), Holst Centre, imec, TNO and KULeuven present an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) designed, fabricated and measured in an organic technology on plastic foil. The result is of great scientific value as it represents the first steps of creating analog organic electronics.

Organic electronics are expected to create new applications and possibilities in the electronics market by introducing flexible displays, low-cost RFID tags etc. But because of the maturity of the technology, the possibilities to create fully-organic circuits are still limited. Using p-type only transistors, digital circuits have been shown by several groups. Analog components are however much more difficult to make, and as a result, progress has been slow.

For the first time, Holst Centre, an initiative by imec and TNO, now reports an organic ADC. The ADC is an important building block in the realization of wireless sensors on thin, flexible foil, such as for instance intelligent food packages and smart bandage applications that are currently under research in the Holst Centre program on Systems-in-Foil.

The ADC is based on a Sigma Delta (ΣΔ) topology, because of its insensitivity to variations in threshold voltage (Vt). The latter is needed to drive active matrix displays developed by the rollable display company Polymer Vision, from which the underlying organic thin-film-transistor (OTFT) technology was used. An overview of the specifications and measurement results (obtained in an N₂ atmosphere at room temperature) can be found in the table below.

Minimal width	25μm
Minimal length	5μm
Typical intrinsic gain	5
f_T for minimal transistor	20kHz

Current consumption	100μA
Power supply	15V
Clock frequency	500Hz
Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR)	26.5dB
Signal-to-noise and distortion ratio (SNDR)	24.5dB
Over-sampling ratio (OSR)	16
Bandwidth (BW)	17Hz
Active area	13x20mm²

The work was conducted in the framework of a PhD thesis co-promoted by imec and by the analog design group MICAS of the ESAT department at the Flemish KULeuven university (http://www.esat.kuleuven.be/micas).

See also

Organic and oxide transistors

Prominently present at International Solid State Circuit Conference (ISSCC2010)

vr, 05, feb, 2010 00:00:00

At next week’s International Solid State Circuit Conference, Holst Centre and imec present their newest breakthroughs in ultra-low power design for wireless communications and wireless sensor networks, 3D design and in organic electronics with an impressive number of contributions including 10 reviewed publications and 6 contributions to tutorials and workshops. Over the week, several news releases will be issued. Check our website regularly for the latest details.

Launch of European research project "HIFLEX" for new low-cost scalable Organic Photovoltaics applications

di, 12, jan, 2010 00:00:00

(Source: ECN ) On 1 January 2010 the European research project "HIFLEX" was launched. Over the next three years a European consortium comprising five research institutes and two industrial companies aims to jointly develop a technology for highly flexible Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) modules, which will allow the cost-effective production of large-area OPV modules with commercially viable Roll-to-Roll compatible printing and coating techniques. HIFLEX will be coordinated by Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN) and is supported by the European Commission as part of the FP7 Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) Programme.

Organic Photovoltaics (OPV) is considered as one of the important emerging photovoltaic technologies which carry large hope for substantial cost reductions for PV in the future. The potential for cost reduction is based on the compatibility with high throughput processing (a factor of at least 10 higher than for other technologies) and the use of low cost materials. Additionally, OPV opens up the perspective of new applications in which mechanical flexibility and light weight are important add-ons to the functionality of PV systems.

The research in HIFLEX aims at developing the OPV technology to match the particular requirements of mobile and remote ICT applications, delivering the required efficiency under different light conditions, sufficient lifetime for practical use, acceptable cost structure, appropriate power-to-weight ratio and fit-to-purpose mechanical flexibility. HIFLEX intends to accelerate the exploitation of this OPV technology for a wide variety of ICT products in the mobile electronics market.

An application-driven research approach will be followed by developing large area, solution processable OPV free of Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) using scalable, reproducible and commercially viable printing and coating techniques enabling the low-cost production of highly flexible and lightweight OPV products. At the same time this approach guarantees the technological compatibility with other printed electronic ICT components and systems. The high flexibility and low costs will be addressed by the solar module design that is intended to be brought into production.

The two industrial partners are: Dr Schenk GmbH, an SME with valuable expertise in the inline process and quality control of Roll-to-Roll processed PV, Agfa-Gevaert with market-tested experience on photographic development of silver grid lines, polymeric antistatic and conductive coatings and large scale coating and printing as well as on developing innovative coating solutions. The five research organizations comprise: Energy research Centre of the Netherlands (ECN), Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems (ISE), Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy (Risø DTU), Holst Centre/TNO, and UK Materials Technology Research Institute (MaTRI). They all have a technology development and market implementation focus with complementary expertise in the field of device and module engineering, up-scaling and large area printing, and long-term lifetime testing.

Holst Centre appoints Director SME Partnerships

ma, 04, jan, 2010 00:00:00

On 1 January 2010, Margot Nijkamp stepped into her new role as Director SME Partnerships. In her new role, Margot will build partnerships with small and medium enterprises to help bring Holst Centre’s maturing technologies closer to product introduction.

By expanding its partnerships with SMEs, Holst Centre hopes to bring its technologies to market faster. It also believes that SMEs have a lot to bring to its technology projects in terms of new market, application and end-customers insights.

Margot is happy to take on the challenge of bringing SMEs on board. “In my role of HR Director, I helped build up the Holst Centre on the High Tech Campus for over four years. Now I will be helping to build Holst Centre from a different angle and I am excited to be in a role where I can have impact on developing the business.”

See also

Industrial partnerships

Human++ technology helps prevent falls

do, 12, nov, 2009 00:00:00

As part of the EU’s SMILING project to help elderly people recover a stable walking gait, Holst Centre, an open-innovation initiative by IMEC (B) and TNO (NL), will create a body sensor solution that can measure and assess an individual’s gait parameters.

SMILING (Self Mobility Improvement in the eLderly by counteractING falls) is an EU-sponsored project under FP7’s theme “ICT for independent living and inclusion”. Many elderly people develop a poor gait, whether through injury or lack of exercise, which can increase the chances of them losing their balance and falling.

The SMILING project aims to help people improve their gait and balance through a rehabilitation program based on an intelligent shoe concept. Holst Centre’s contribution to the project is an innovative miniaturized, wireless sensor platform. This will be attached to a person’s shoes to analyze their gait as part of the assessment process for developing a tailored rehabilitation program.

The sensor platform is derived from Holst Centre’s Human++ Body Area Network technology. The solution contains an accelerometer, 3 gyroscopes (for roll, yaw and pitch, an embedded micro-controller, a low-power 2.4 GHz radio link with 10 m range, an SD-card for local data storage and a battery allowing for over 24 hours of autonomy. All the electronics are contained in a small package that attaches to the back of the shoe, making it highly wearable.

With these electronics, it is possible to measure the movements of each foot. The parameters measured are 3-axis acceleration and rotation. The solution supports synchronized data acquisition from multiple sensors and features an embedded algorithm to detect walking phases. In a benchmark test, the sensors proved to have a 93.2% sensitivity for walking phase detection compared to the standard that was used (a pressure insole system).

BAN MAC proposal selected as best paper at ICWMC

ma, 14, sep, 2009 11:59:00

The white paper "A new priority-guaranteed MAC protocol for emerging body area networks", written by Yan Zhang and Guido Dolmans has been selected as one of the best papers at the International Conference on Wireless and Mobile Communications (ICWMC) 2009.

Just getting a paper accepted for ICMWC is already a challenge. Of more than 300 papers submitted for the conference only 31% (about 100) were accepted for presentation and from these only one was picked as the best paper in each of 10 categories.

The paper outlines a new MAC protocol proposal for body area networks that is capable of handling a wide mix of traffic while also guaranteeing priority for certain types of data such as control data or data from medical applications. The protocol is ideally suited for managing the mixed signals of BAN systems which can range from a few kbits/s for medical application to full multimedia broadcasts for consumer applications. It also designed to use less power than existing solutions, particularly with large numbers of nodes.

Yan and Guido have now been invited to publish an extended version of their paper in an International Academy, Research, and Industry Association (IARIA) journal.

Unique lamination unit added to roll-to-roll R&D line

vr, 21, aug, 2009 10:44:00

The recent installation of a lamination tool brings Holst Centre one step closer to demonstrating a complete systems-in-foil manufacturing process on its roll-to-roll R&D line.

This unique piece of equipment will allow Holst Centre to test and develop innovative methods for accurately laminating multiple interconnected functional foils for large area electronics. First lamination trials using 30 cm wide foils are planned for the start of next year.

The lamination machine uses a patented concept and is designed to align foils with high accuracy – Holst Centre is aiming for an initial accuracy of 100µm – and laminate them with low residual stress in a continuous process. This allows lamination at low tensile forces to avoid damaging the devices and prevent stress-induced curling.

Together with its partners in the Integration and Interconnects technology program, Holst Centre will use the new machine to investigate further optimization and application of this process for large-area electronics, such as OLED lighting and organic photovoltaics (OPV).

The lamination process requires extreme positioning control and the new system uses advanced vision control technology from research partner Orbotech. Innovations in control technology, both hardware and software, will be a key component of this development.

Holst Centre is also considering incorporating a laser system for multilayer patterning and via drilling into the roll-to-roll platform. Further R&D partners from the laser industry have already indicated their interest to join a roll-to-roll laser program to build such a tool and demonstrate applications.

See also:

Click here for more information on Integration Technologies for Flexible Systems

Jaap Lombaers joins Organic Electronics Association board

ma, 06, jul, 2009 00:00:00

Jaap Lombaers, Managing Director of Holst Centre, has been appointed to the board of the Organic Electronics Association (OEA). Jaap took up his seat on June 22, and will initially serve for two years.

The OEA is a working group of the VDMA (the German Engineering Federation). It brings together over 100 leading industry, research and academia organizations from around the globe, covering the entire organic electronics process chain from materials to applications. The association provides a forum for sharing information, speeding progress and defining future development strategies for organic electronics.

“I’m pleased and honored to join the board of the OEA,” Jaap said. “Organizations like this are vital for the development of this important technology. By getting involved in its board-level activities, I look forward to building new opportunities for international co-operation and knowledge sharing, and bringing our own vision to the OEA’s efforts to shape the future of organic and large-area electronics.”

Body Area Networking standard attracts major industry attention

ma, 15, jun, 2009 00:00:00

The recent IEEE 802.15.6 Working Group (WG) meeting in Montreal, Canada drew significant interest from major industry players including Philips, General Electric (GE), Texas Instruments, Toumaz and Samsung. Over five days (May 11-15th), more than 40 proposals were presented, including four from Holst Centre’s Program on Ultra-Low Power (ULP) Radios.

Amongst the industry presenters were the MedWiN Alliance (an industrial alliance jointly set up by GE, Philips, TI and Toumaz) and NICT, a research centre representing Japanese businesses. Several proposals were put forward by Samsung, and other major technology players including Motorola, Qualcomm and Fujitsu also presented.

Holst Centre’s four proposals included a narrowband PHY for ISM band communications and a corresponding MAC proposal as well as an UWB PHY proposal, in part inspired by the recent IEEE 802.15.4a standard in which IMEC also played an active role. Finally a MAC proposal coupled to the UWB PHY was also proposed.

Olivier Rousseaux, Business Development Manager ULP Wireless and Guido Dolmans, Activity Leader/Principal Researcher ULP Wireless, attended the meeting, “Typically there might only be a few proposals for a new standard. So the fact that more than 40 proposals were presented shows just how much attention this standard is attracting. With so many proposals and interested parties, the next challenge will be agreeing what goes into the final standard.”

The scope of the IEEE 802.15.6 WG is to define a new standard for Wireless Body Area Networking (WBAN). This covers wireless networks operating at up to 3 m around, on and inside the body and supporting a mix of medical applications and multi-media / consumer applications. Holst Centre and IMEC have been closely involved in this standard from the initial study phase. They have helped determine the application scope and technical requirements, many of which are quite demanding – data rates from 10 kbits/s up to 10 Mbits/s, guaranteed quality of service (critical for biomedical applications) and very low power consumption.

From the initial discussions at the meeting, the general consensus was that the standard will need to support several PHY layers under on unifying MAC layer. One of the PHY layers may be for medical implants only. GE is currently lobbying the FCC to assign a dedicated frequency band for medical communications around the body. Next, ISM band and UWB PHYs are expected to be adopted by the group. The next meeting, being held from 13-17 July in San Fransisco, will start the merger activity where members decide on which proposals to include in the final standard.

Solvay extends its Holst Centre collaboration on OLEDs

vr, 15, mei, 2009 00:00:00

International chemical and pharmaceutical group Solvay has signed an agreement to join Holst Centre’s technology integration program on Printed Organic Lighting and Signage. Together, Solvay and Holst Centre will investigate the use of solution processes to cut costs and increase throughput for the manufacture of small-molecule organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs).

Solvay has been working with Holst Centre since October 2008 as part of the Systems in Foil technology program, focussing on semiconductor materials for organic circuitry. The new deal, which will initially run for three years, looks at new materials and solution processes to replace the vacuum techniques currently used in making high-efficiency, multi-layer OLEDs. Solvay is one of the first materials suppliers to invest in solutions processes, such as printing and coating, for small-molecule OLEDs.

“With its extensive materials expertise, I’m very happy to have Solvay as a partner. This agreement will allow us to focus more effort on solution processes for small-molecule OLEDs, bringing a new generation of cost-effective, flexible display and lighting applications a step closer,” said Ton van Mol, Holst Centre’s Program Manager for Printed Organic Lighting and Signage.

Best Paper Award for Micropower team during SSI2009

do, 12, mrt, 2009 00:00:00

During the Smart Systems Integration Conference (March 10-11, Brussels), the Micropower team, consisting of IMEC employees working in Leuven and at Holst Centre, won the Best Paper Award for a presentation “Wireless body-powered electrocardiography shirt”.

The paper featured an autonomous wearable electrocardiography (ECG) system integrated into an office-style shirt. It contains biopotential electrodes, an electronic module built on flex technology, thermoelectric generator and wireless link. The thickness of system components does not exceed 6.5 mm. The ECG system does not require any technical service, i.e., it is service-free for its entire lifetime. The user just puts it on and the device starts itself. When taken off, the system switches into a standby regime. The shirt is fully washable in a conventional washing machine.

Novel gas sensor characterization facility supports sensor development

do, 15, jan, 2009 00:00:00

Holst Centre has installed an experimental set-up that provides a flexible platform for gas sensor testing. This gas sensor characterization facility will support the ongoing developments of (bio)chemical sensors.

The gas sensor characterization facility consists of a gas mixing set-up, a custom-made probe station, and a semiconductor parameter analyzer. This experimental set-up was built to complement the development of gas sensors by providing a flexible platform for testing. The samples are contacted by means of adjustable probes in an enclosed, controlled environment. As a result, the devices can be monitored in the middle of the fabrication process with no need to bond them in a package. Electrical measurements can be performed while gases are flowing with varying concentrations. Therefore, transient responses and responses to increasing concentrations can be measured without opening the vessel. Several different gases can be used in the set-up because gas mixing components can be added or changed easily. A detailed description of the different elements of this gas sensor characterization facility is given below:

Gas mixing set-up

A stream of gas with a well-defined composition is generated with a gas mixing set-up. Nitrogen or dry air can be chosen as the main gas stream with an optional water bubbler for humidity control. A variable concentration of a gaseous analyte or a vapor can be obtained by injection of a trace into the main gas flow. Concentrations can be adjusted to application-relevant levels.

Probe station

The stream of gas from the gas mixing set-up is led through to a custom-made four-probe station. This includes a small chamber where the sample is located and contacted by four electrical probes that are vacuum sealed. A controlled atmosphere is thus created within the confined space of the chamber, which can contain a 150mm diameter wafer. Gas is continuously flowing through the chamber to avoid concentration changes. The chuck temperature can be controlled in a range from –200°C to +200°C. The complete probe station was manufactured by Materials Development Corporation. A magnifying stereoscope is mounted on the set-up to facilitate the placement of the probe tips on the contact pads.

Semiconductor parameter analyzer

The sensor response to the gaseous analyte is monitored by a semiconductor parameter analyzer (Agilent B1500). Four source-meter units are available so that more complex devices can be characterized. The maximum voltage and current ranges are 100V and 100mA, respectively. The minimum voltage and current resolutions are 0.5mV and 1fA, respectively. A complex-impedance measurement unit (from 1kHz to 5MHz) is also included in the system. Resistive, capacitive, and inductive measurement geometries are thus also possible. Computer-controlled hardware makes it possible to fully automate the measurement sequences. The gas sensor characterization facility was built in the frame of the activities on sensors and actuators, which focus on the development of generic sensor technologies for low-power, wireless and autonomous electronic devices. The current interest is focused on (bio)chemical sensors. Applications are found in the industrial, domestic, environmental, agricultural, logistical, and medical fields.

IEDM paper: world’s first UHF rectification using organic diodes

wo, 17, dec, 2008 00:00:00

Within the Holst Centre program on Organic Circuitry, the world’s first plastic diode operating in the Ultra-high frequency (UHF) band has been developed and reported at the IEDM conference in San Francisco.

For organic-electronic applications such as RFID-tags, the rectifier is one of the most critical components. The rectifier is responsible for converting the electromagnetic energy of the incoming RF-signal captured by the antenna into a DC operating voltage that powers the transponder chip on the tag. Plastic transponder chips that hold the promise to result in low cost tags have been shown in the past years,. However, the antenna itself forms a very significant part of the cost of an RFID tag. Antennas for the UHF frequency band (operating at 433MHz, 869MHz, 915 MHz) are smaller and lower cost than antennas for HF (13.56 MHz), therefore UHF is the preferred frequency band for ultra-low-cost tags. For the first time, researchers have been able to make a UHF rectifier (operating at 433MHz and 869MHz) with a plastic diode. This is therefore not only a scientific breakthrough, but really opens the door for low-cost plastic electronic tags.

Technical details

The rectifier presented at IEDM was made using a 160nm thin film of purified pentacene sandwiched between Al and Au electrodes on glass. The diodes have a reverse breakdown voltage exceeding 25V and a charge carrier mobility of 0.15cm2/Vs.

The diodes where integrated with capacitors into rectifiers on a plastic foil (schematic and picture shown in Figure1). These integrated rectifiers operate up to a frequency of 869MHz In Figure 2, the measurement results have been plotted over the full frequency range. The rectified DC voltage at 869 MHz is 4.5V. Further increases of the voltage level will be possible using a more complex rectifier.

The work was done within the framework of the Holst Centre research program on organic circuitry, in close collaboration between IMEC Leuven and TNO Eindhoven, and was co-funded by the European project POLYAPPLY.

IMEC deal with Panasonic includes research at Holst Centre

do, 13, nov, 2008 00:00:00

Today, the nanoelectronics research center IMEC and Panasonic Corporation have signed a joint research contract concerning the most advanced technologies in the semiconductor, networks, wireless, and biomedical fields. Research will be carried out at the Leuven (Belgium) facilities and at Holst Centre in Eindhoven (the Netherlands).

Since 2004, Panasonic has been participating in IMEC’s joint research platform on the most advanced semiconductor process technologies as a core partner[1] to accelerate its open innovation in this field. The world’s first mass production of the system-on-chip with 65nm and 45nm processes such as Panasonic’s “UniPhier®” [2] uses the results of the joint research with IMEC. Now, a comprehensive joint research program covering most of the research domains of IMEC will start by expanding the collaboration scope from advanced semiconductor process technology to include application areas of semiconductors.

For this purpose, the Panasonic IMEC Center will be established at the IMEC premises in December 2008. It will conduct R&D on network technology such as dynamically reconfigurable software-defined radio [3], ultra-low power consumption wireless communication technology for healthcare and lifestyle monitoring[4] and biomedical technology such as next generation biosensors.

Recently, thanks to the evolution of systems-on-chip, consumer electronics have advanced with higher performance, smaller size and lower power consumption. Future evolution of semiconductor technologies and integration with various other technologies is expected to further broaden application domains. In order to accelerate such evolution and integration of different technologies, joint research among the world class research institutes is essential.

Panasonic is enhancing its R&D in networks, healthcare devices and semiconductor technologies in order to realize an environmentally-friendly ubiquitous networked society. Panasonic will make further acceleration of R&D on cutting-edge technologies by expanding the scheme of joint research with IMEC, the world outstanding nanoelectronics research center as well as the world-leading research center in applications of semiconductor technology.

[1] Core partner
A member company which actively participates in a core set of research programs on sub-32nm CMOS at IMEC. Nine such companies as of October 2008 on worldwide basis.
[2] UniPhier is a registered trademark of Panasonic Corporation in Japan and other countries.
[3] Dynamically reconfigurable software-defined radio
A Software-Defined Radio system is a reconfigurable radio implementation which offers support for a large variety of wireless standards on a single hardware platform. It switches between the supported standards by controlling all parameters of the PHY/MAC functions in software or even by implementing some PHY/MAC functions on specialized software-programmable processors.
[4] Healthcare and lifestyle monitoring
Detecting health condition (capture, understand and judge outside stimulus) by live signals such as brain wave, pulse wave and body temperature.

ASML extends participation in Holst Centre

vr, 03, okt, 2008 00:00:00

After the recent news about the partnership extentions of Singulus Mastering and Bekaert (July 31), Holst Centre has also prolonged and widened its partnership with ASML. The world's leading provider of lithography systems for the semiconductor industry teamed up with Holst Centre in June 2006. Holst Centre is pleased that ASML extends its partnership to further investigate potential business cases, technologies and markets for lithography.

Open innovation results in Best Peer-Review Paper award from the Organic Semiconductor Industry Awards 2008

vr, 03, okt, 2008 00:00:00

During the Networking Dinner of the Organic Semiconductor Conference (OSC-08), Holst Centre, Philips Research Europe and ASML were given the Best Peer-Review Paper award for the paper "Advances in lithographic patterning of micron-sized features on flexible substrates"*

Jaap Lombaers, Managing Director Holst Centre: “This award is a true boost for a young organization as Holst Centre. We are very grateful and proud for the recognition of our work. The co-authorship of two of our partners symbolizes the added value of joining forces in an open-innovation setting as Holst Centre. I congratulate the entire team.”

The number of nominations for the awards was significantly higher than last year and the OSIA 2008 judging panel commented on how the quality of the nominations overall was also significantly higher.

Craig Cruickshank, cintelliq CEO and member of the OSIA 2008 judging panel, said, "The awards are an important way to recognize excellence in the industry. We are very pleased with the continued high standard of entries for the awards and are grateful to the panel of judges for their rigorous evaluation of the nominations. The past 12 months have seen a number of significant technical developments in the industry, and these have been reflected in the award nominations."

* Mária Péter, François Furthner, Bas van der Putten, Gerwin Gelinck, Erwin Meinders, Tom Geuns, Wim de Laat: Advances in lithographic patterning of micron-sized features on flexible substrates, Organic Semiconductor Conference and Exhibition 2008 , OSC08

Participation in Futurotextiel08

wo, 17, sep, 2008 00:00:00

From October 9 to December 7, 2008 the Belgian city of Courtrai (Kortrijk) hosts Futurotextiel08, an exhibition on how science, technology and art impact the textiles of tomorrow. Holst Centre has a participation in the exhibition by displaying its wireless ECG patch and Smart Bandage as examples of how smart textiles will bring more comfort to our daily lives. All details about the exhibition can be found on the Futurotextiel08 website.

Research book on Battery Management Systems

vr, 15, aug, 2008 00:00:00

As principal author, Holst Centre researcher Valer Pop presents Volume 9 in the Philips Research Book Series, titled “Battery Management Systems - Accurate State-of-Charge Indication for Battery-Powered Applications”. The book is a practical example of ‘open-innovation’ combining authors affiliated to different institutes, companies and universities. The content covers all disciplines from (electro)chemical, electrical engineering, mathematical and measurement science to describe the field of State-of-Charge (SoC) indication for battery-powered applications. The result is a new developed universal SoC and remaining run-time indication solution together with a fast-charging solution for rechargeable batteries.
Full details and pricing can be found on www.springer.com (ISBN 978-1-4020-6944-4)

Delineator algorithm extends wireless ECG patch

ma, 14, jul, 2008 00:00:00

The functionality of the Human++ demonstrator(*) "wireless ECG patch for cardiac monitoring" has been extended with software that delineates the electrocardiography (ECG) signal locally on the patch node before sending the results over the air to the receiver. The algorithm achieves excellent results for sensitivity and predictivity, and covers a broad range of wave morphologies.

The wireless ECG patch is a hybrid system combining electronic assembly on a flexible polyimide substrate and integration in textile. This enables flexibility in one dimension and stretchability in the other, which is required for optimal personal comfort. The patch features IMEC’s proprietary ultra-low-power biopotential ASIC, a commercial microcontroller and a 2.4GHz radio link. The patch can continuously monitor the patient’s heart at a sample rate of up to 1kHz. It sends the results directly to the receiver, or it can delineate the signals locally before sending them. Local delineation reduces the use of the radio, improving the autonomy of the patch. The current autonomy with local delineation is 10 days of continuous monitoring.

For local delineation, a wavelet-based ECG delineator algorithm has now been implemented. The algorithm transforms the monitored ECG signal using discrete wavelet transform, and then performs a multi-scale search for the ECG waves. The delineator is able to identify P,Q, R, S, and T wave peaks and boundaries. Because the intervals and amplitudes of these waves contain most of the useful information of the ECG, this delineation will provide quick and useful information to the healthcare provider.

The QRS-wave search uses scales 21 to 23. It is based on modulus maximum lines, and the decision whether to consider a maximum modulus will be made immediately. The search will continue with adjacent slopes to delineate further QRS waves. The algorithm covers QRS, QR, RS, R, and QS wave morphologies. The search for P and T waves also uses scales 23 to 24. It follows the QRS delineation and covers the following morphologies: positive and negative, raising and falling waves for both P and T waves, and biphasic T waves.

The delineator on the ECG patch has been validated over all the records in the MIT-QT database. It achieves a 99.93% sensitivity and a 98.28% positive predictivity for QRS detection on 86,994 beats. For delineation over 3,623 beats, it reaches a 99.83% sensitivity and a 95.08% positive predictivity.

(*) Human++ is the Holst Centre strategic program in which technology innovations in the domain of health and wellness monitoring are demonstrated and tested.

Opening Roll-to-Roll research line for printed electronics

do, 19, jun, 2008 00:00:00

On June 19, Holst Centre officially inaugurated its roll-to-roll line for printed electronics. The current installation is a fully equipped pilot-production line for systems-in-foil printing, coating, drying and lamination. The next stage is the development of a complementary roll-to-roll deposition line for thin-film barriers on foil, currently in specification. Holst Centre also plans to build a dedicated roll-to-roll line for high-precision lamination.

Holst Centre will initially focus its activities on large-area printing and printed structures on flexible substrates around the Roll-to-Roll line. Main application driver is the development of device layouts and processes for flexible OLED lighting and signage. Gradually, also other Holst Centre programs such as organic circuitry and lithography on foil will move more and more towards roll-to-roll compatible processes.

Flexible electronics is an emerging market with a massive potential and a huge range of possible applications, from displays and lighting to smart packaging. While the technology is proven, there is a growing need for new manufacturing methods and technologies to support volume production.

Holst Centre gathers together partners from the complete value-chain including materials suppliers (foils, active polymers, inks…), equipment manufacturers and product manufacturers, each with their own dedicated area of expertise. This type of collaboration allows defining open standards and smart interconnect technologies that will allow manufacturers to easily combine foils into end-products.

Hydrogen sensor with record ultra-low-power consumption

ma, 21, apr, 2008 00:00:00

In the framework of Holst Centre, IMEC and Nanosens have developed an ultra-low-power hydrogen sensor based on palladium nanowires. It shows a reproducible response to hydrogen concentrations as low as 2.7ppm, while consuming a mere 1nW power. Sensors such as these can be used, for example, in fuel cells or to monitor for gas leaks.

Palladium is known as one of the best materials for hydrogen sensing, as it is able to absorb up to 600 times its own volume of hydrogen. In the presence of hydrogen, palladium forms the more resistive palladium-hydride. Such resistive sensor elements are of particular interest as they enable relatively straightforward signal detection and fabrication. For the palladium-based sensors that are currently available, the response times and sensitivity are insufficient; but more importantly, these sensors do not meet the ultra-low-power requirements for integration with wireless autonomous sensor nodes needed in many applications.

Nanosens, a Dutch company developing innovative nanotech solutions, has invented CMOS compatible processes to fabricate highly uniform, long, and small nanowires of various materials, including palladium.

At Holst Centre, chips with palladium nanowires have been subjected to a wide range of hydrogen concentrations in nitrogen. The sensor shows a reversible response to hydrogen concentrations as low as 2.7ppm while consuming a mere 1nW of power. To the best of our knowledge this is the hydrogen sensor with the lowest power consumption to date. Additionally, the sensor response to hydrogen is highly reproducible and stable over a period of up to six months. In a next step, a low-power read-out circuitry will be developed at Holst Centre. This will result in a full sensing device.

Hydrogen is widely used in many industries. It is also touted to become one of the main energy carriers of the future, replacing fossil fuels. Hydrogen sensors thus represent an important opportunity. They could be used in applications as varied as detecting impending electrical power transformer failure, or monitoring hydrogen concentrations in fuel cells. And for all hydrogen-based industrial applications, the availability of sensitive and effective hydrogen sensors to quickly respond to hydrogen gas leaks and to monitor manufacturing and distribution is paramount.