Magnetic ink can self-repair circuits.
As all consumers know, when electronic devices break they can be quite a frustrating time, either you’ll have to buy a new TV, a computer and a phone in most cases, or in more unfortunate cases all your unsaved data on a broken device will be lost. However, a new technology that uses magnetic ink for self-repair promises to give electronic devices a second life.
A team of researchers from the Jacobs School of Engineering, at the University of California, San Diego have developed an innovative new technology that promises to address some of the consumers’ biggest woes regarding electronics. They created a magnetic ink that can repair circuitry or even close gaps of up to 3 millimeters wide.
Researchers developed the magnetic ink by collecting microparticles from pulverized neodymium magnets found in hard drives. This type of material is cheap and has strong magnetic properties. They added a carbon powder for increased conductivity into the ink, which was subjected to a magnetic field so that when the circuitry with the magnetic ink breaks apart or is cut, then two sides will be attracted to each other magnetically, closing the gap in the process.
According to one of the researchers, Amay Bandodkar , they wanted to create a smart system which has extraordinary abilities to self-repair while still being inexpensive by using common materials. They also wanted to develop a self-healing technology that would avoid heat or other catalysts in order to start the process.
The result of their research was the new and revolutionary magnetic ink which can heal cuts in only a few seconds, a major improvement over previous technologies. The researchers demonstrated the ink’s capacity they printed a circuit with the ink in question on the sleeve of a shirt attached to a battery and a LED light. A few seconds later after it was cut with a pair of scissors, the circuit was repaired and the light came back on. The ink maintains its capacity even after being repeatedly damaged in the same place.
This magnetic ink technology greatly benefits the wearables industry, more specifically smart clothing which could be subjected to a lot of stress while wearing them. The ink solves the problem of any circuitry being torn apart just by stretching. However, in the case of cuts, the ink repairs the circuit but there still remains a visible scar behind. More research is also required to figure out how to avoid magnetic interference with other devices.
Image source: Jacobs School of Engineering/UC San Diego
