Piezoelectric paint in Finland

Pressure-sensitive paint will warn when a bridge is about to collapse. VTT Technical Research Centre in Helsinki, Finland, added piezoelectric crystals, which produce a voltage when stressed, to a resin which was painted on the underside of a steel footbridge (Smart Materials and Structures, vol 16, p 2571). Electrodes at each end of the bridge detected changes in voltage as people crossed the bridge. The crystals can be used to detect pressure changes due to structural flaws.

 

VTT is an impartial expert organisation. Its objective is to develop new technologies, create new innovations and added value thus increasing customer's competitiveness. With its know how VTT produces research, development, testing and information services to the public sector and companies as well as international organisations.

 

 

VTT helps customers take advantage of the fast development of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and electronics. Their high quality global service and expertise cover the value chains of the entire information industry: semiconductor materials, manufacturing of microchips, as well as the design of electrical and optical components and circuits based on microelectronics, micro-mechanical sensors and systems and information networks. Also, service platforms, services, information systems and media and support technology for content are covered.

 

This organisation is a member of the OLLA OLED lighting project of the EC.

 

At the IDTechEx conference Printed Electronics USA in November 2007, Mr Markus Tuomikoski, Team Leader, Optoelectronic Components  spoke on "Printed Large Area OLED Lighting" which included:

VTT also presented At the Printed Electronics conference in Frankfurt 29 October 2007, where Dr Maria Smolander spoke on "Printed enzyme based power sources and enzyme based smart devices for packaging."

 

This profile is extracted from the new report Organic and Printed Electronics in Europe . This is the world's first and only report analysing the subject in depth. It compares and analyses the activities of over 267 organisations in 19 countries by technology and region. It gives full contact details of these companies and, where appropriate, examples of patenting performance, research programs and scientific papers presented in 2007 onwards. Graphs and charts bring out the strengths and weaknesses of the effort in Europe and the technological and market focus.

 

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland

P.O. Box 1000

FI-02044 VTT

Tel.: +358 20 722 111