University of Colorado Boulder and Kelvin Thermal sign license for ultra-thin flexible electronics.
The University of Colorado Boulder is shaping up to be one of the drivers of the hotly-anticipated flexible technologies field following the signing of a license between the institution and Kelvin Thermal Technologies.
The license will allow Kelvin access to thermal management technologies which could assist the development of ultra-thin and flexible technologies. It is expected that flexible electronics will be incorporated into smartphones and wearable electronics over the coming decade, but one of the major barriers to progress in the field has been efficient ways to manage heat generated by components used in flexi-tech.
Researchers at Boulder have developed a flexible thermal ‘ground plane’ which is around the thickness of a credit card. Developed with funding from the US Department of Defence’s Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the ground plane is three times more efficient than graphite and ten times more efficient than copper at thermal management.
Allen Duck, Kelvin Thermal CEO, said: “The issue of thermal management is significant today in all aspects of design. The Kelvin Thermal approach to heat transfer and thermal management offers design teams opportunities to create thinner, smaller more efficient electronics systems. In creative hands it becomes a game-changing technology.”
