Applied Nanotech, Ishihara Chemical Win 2010 R&D 100 Award for Conductive Copper Inks

Applied Nanotech Holdings, Inc. (APNT) announced that it, along with its strategic partner in Japan, Ishihara Chemical Co., Ltd., has won the coveted R&D 100 award for Cu-i70 Copper Ink. This is the second consecutive year that ANI has earned this award; ANI was recognized last year for its CarbAl heat transfer material.

The R&D 100 Awards have long been a benchmark of excellence for industry sectors as diverse as telecommunications, high-energy physics, software, manufacturing, and biotechnology.

“We are extremely honored that our innovation in the field of printed electronics has been recognized as one of the 100 most technologically significant products introduced in the past year,” said APNT CEO Doug Baker.

ANI and Ishihara won this award for their inkjettable conductive copper ink that can be deposited by inkjet or many other types of printers in air on a flexible thin film substrate such as a polyimide. This low cost technology can pave the way for a new generation of environmentally friendly products and manufacturing methods. Within the printed electronics industry, it is well known that making products smaller and their manufacturing simpler are major ways to reduce energy use, costs, and negative environmental impact.

The creation of this inkjettable ink allows geometries and layers to be placed exactly where they are needed, in a process known as additive manufacturing. The low processing temperature of the ink enables the use of thin film substrates, creating a reduction in energy use and material usage. Copper itself is substantially less expensive than silver, a material commonly used in printed electronics, while its conductivity is only five percent lower. Furthermore, a copper ink allows the PCB industry to use much of the infrastructure already established for laminated PCB products.

“I am especially delighted that the technical achievements of ANI have been recognized again by an independent judging panel.” said Dr. Zvi Yaniv, CEO of Applied Nanotech, Inc.

In addition to the R&D 100 for CarbAl heat transfer material received last year, ANI previously won the prestigious IDTechEx Printed Electronics Technical Development Materials Award for its inkjettable conductive copper ink in 2009.

Since 1963, the R&D 100 Awards have identified revolutionary technologies newly introduced to the market. Many of these have become household names, helping shape everyday life for many Americans. These include the flashcube (1965), the automated teller machine (1973), the halogen lamp (1974), the fax machine (1975), the liquid crystal display (1980), the Kodak Photo CD (1991), the Nicoderm anti-smoking patch (1992), Taxol anticancer drug (1993), lab on a chip (1996) and HDTV (1998).

Winners of the R&D 100 Awards are selected by an independent judging panel and the editors of R&D Magazine.