Spray-on ‘invisibly thin’ may usher in new ultra-slim gadgets

Ultra-slim gadgets could be the next big breakthrough in technology if an “invisibly thin” material leaves the lab. Made from a two-dimensional metallic material, it promises to make installing an antenna on a surface as easy as applying a coat of spray paint. One of the hardest problems to overcome in today’s technology is how […]

Ultra-slim gadgets could be the next big breakthrough in technology if an “invisibly thin” material leaves the lab.

Made from a two-dimensional metallic material, it promises to make installing an antenna on a surface as easy as applying a coat of spray paint.

One of the hardest problems to overcome in today’s technology is how to include antennae in their design, say its creators. The new technique means that radio waves can be received and transmitted from the outside of a device, through an external aerial.

This opens up the possibility for a whole host of slimmed down gadgets, from smartphones and routers to smart fabrics and other ‘Internet of Things’.

Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a broad category that refers to devices or sensors that connect, communicate or transmit information over the web.

Products range from printers and baby monitors to thermostats and fridges.

Research firm Gartner predicts there will be 8.4 billion connected ‘things’ in use in 2017, up 31 per cent from 2016.

By 2020 this number could reach 20.4 billion, with smart TVs and digital set-top boxes the most popular consumer gadgets.

While they are convenient, such gadgets can present an easy targets for hackers.

They could also allow ISPs to spy on their users, according to a new Princeton study.

Researchers from Drexel University’s College of Engineering invented a material called MXene, which they say performs as good as those currently used in mobile devices.

MXene titanium carbide can be dissolved in water to create an ink or paint and the exceptional conductivity of the material enables it to transmit and direct radio waves even when it’s applied in a very thin coating.

It would allow antennas to easily apply to a wide variety of objects and surfaces without adding additional weight or circuitry or requiring a certain level of rigidity.

“This is a very exciting finding because there is a lot of potential for this type of technology,” said Prof. Kapil Dandekar, who directs the Drexel wireless systems lab and is a co-author of the research.

“The ability to spray an antenna on a flexible substrate or make it optically transparent means that we could have a lot of new places to set up networks.

“There are new applications and new ways of collecting data that we can’t even imagine at the moment.

“This technology could enable the truly seamless integration of antennas with everyday objects, which will be critical for the emerging Internet of Things.