The big push in 3D printing these days is to try to print two or more polymers at once," Michael McAlpine, an assistant professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at Princeton University, tells Nanowerk. "In our latest research, we go way beyond that. We show that we can print interwoven structures of quantum dots, polymers, metal nanoparticles, etc, to create the first fully 3D printed LEDs, in which every component is 3D printed."
This demonstration represents a proof of concept in combining active nanoelectronic components with the versatility of 3D printing, which enables the three-dimensional free-form fabrication of active electronics.