Paper as Substrate for Optogenetic Micro-­ILED Devices

One of the materials that is commonly being used in electronics applications is paper. It is flexible, cheap, highly available, and allows for simple manufacturing when paired with methods such as screen printing or inkjet printing. Proposed below is an optogenetic device that uses paper as the sole substrate, with a screen­printed PCB with Ag/AgCl wires. This device was quick and easy to manufacture, unlike the state of the art optoelectronic devices that use polymers and rely on complex fabrication methods such as photolithography. Resistivity tests that included bending and folding of the PCBs have shown that the paper­based circuits are flexible, conductive, and robust. The Ag/AgCl wires were able to deliver sufficient power to light an LED without the need to increase voltage input above what is required when directly supplying power to the LED. Overall, this design is established as a feasible option for an optoelectronic device that could be readily made in bulk without using the costly materials or fabrication methods.