CDA
For some years now, CDA GmbH has offered the option of complementing micro fluidic and micro optical elements with printed electronics. The spectrum of printable electronic components was until recently restricted to paths and passive elements such as inductors, switches and capacitors. Using the same manufacturing approach, CDA can now also offer displays as a further component.
CDA provides its customers with a comprehensive high-end technology portfolio for the development and manufacture of µ-functional devices, comprising printed electronics, microfluidic systems and optical components. All of CDA’s manufacturing approaches utilize optimized processes based on the use of plastic, where the use of combined approaches enables the realization of complex multi-µ-functional solutions.
The newly developed display elements consist of flexible electrochrome or electroluminescent display elements, i.e. color emitting and with high resolution (up to 80lpi). For the electrochrome display elements, the application of a voltage results in a change in the color, and can be used, for example, to represent fill capacities or absolute values (such as voltage spikes), or to display simple characters. In the electroluminescence display elements an applied voltage causes a dye to illuminate, for example for nighttime or background illumination applications requiring suface (area) lighting.
The incorporation of these two elements means that complex circuits can now be printed and implemented, for example, in microfluidics for representing changes in liquid resistance.
The key to CDA’s approach lies in the integration of all required elements into a single compact device, without the need for additional external components. For the case that supplementary logic functions are indeed required, these too can be incorporated using microassembly techniques at CDA.
With the new display elements, CDA can now offer its customers an additional component to further complement the already individual, integrated and cost-effective devices made possible through CDA’s combination of microfluidic and micro-optics manufacturing.