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Masdar delves into printed electronics
Masdar delves into printed electronics Staff Reporter / 29 May 2013 Researchers at the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology have taken the initial steps towards printed organic optoelectronics, placing the UAE firmly on the global map of this promising sector. Printed electronics is a combination of the technologies employed in printing, electronics, chemistry and material science. Industries across the world are embracing this nascent sector for commercial implications. New innovations are much sought after because this technology can offer benefits such as low cost, high throughput, ease of manufacturing and use in new applications. Dr Samuele Lilliu, a post-doctoral fellow working at the Nano-Optics and Optoelectronics Research (NOOR) Laboratory under Dr Marcus Dahlem, Assistant Professor, Microsystems Engineering, is leading a major project on organic photodetectors, including solar cells and photodiodes. Novel research strategies and innovative concepts are also being developed to make Masdar Institute a strong player in the printed electronics arena. A current study by IDTechEx, a consulting company for printed electronics, shows that the market for printed and potentially printed electronics is already worth $9.4 billion. A study by Silicon Valley-headquartered business consulting firm Frost & Sullivan predicts the market for organic and printed electronics will increase by more than 100 per cent to around $25 billion by 2015. Tracking the global trend, the Masdar Institute recently installed Fujifilm Dimatix DMP2831, one of the most flexible tools for ink development in inkjet-printing. The application of inkjet-printing as a fabrication tool for organic devices shows the potential of these organic materials for low-cost third-generation electronics and optoelectronics. “Dr Lilliu fabricated the first high-quality inkjet-printed organic photodiodes at Dr Sandro Tedde’s labs in Siemens AG, Germany, which currently holds the largest patent portfolio on organic photodiodes. His experience holds the key and his research project brings value to Abu Dhabi and the UAE,” Dr Dahlem stated. Training programmes on operating the Fujifilm Dimatix DMP2831 for graduate students are currently being scheduled. Students will also learn to print polymers on (Indium Tin Oxide) ITO-coated glass and flexible substrates such as paper, textiles and plastics. “Organic semiconductors are highly attractive for electronic applications thanks to their ease of processing and tunability, which offers great potential for low fabrication costs. Bulk-heterojunction organic photodetectors based on semiconductive polymers and small molecules are currently among the best performing organic electronic devices,” Dr Lilliu said. The development and the optimisation of semiconductor and nanoparticle inks is an essential step for the commercialisation of low-cost organic photodetectors. Since organic solar cells can be coated on flexible transparent substrates, their potential applications range from self-powered electronic newspapers to building-integrated photovoltaics. The combination of organic photovoltaics with inkjet-printing also offers interesting opportunities in the field of multi-colour aesthetic solar cells, a field that is currently unexplored and that could be highly attractive for designers and artists. olivia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Deadline for Syria peace
Deadline for Syria peace Silvia Radan / 29 May 2013 Even while the European Union decided they could provide weapons to the rebels, Britain said on Tuesday it does not consider a military intervention in Syria. However, Alistair Burt, UK Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, said in Abu Dhabi that a political transition of power must happen before the end of the year. Alistair Burt, UK Minister for Middle East and North Africa and Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs at the Press briefing in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday. — KT photo by Shoaib Anwer The 10 th working group meeting between the UAE and the UK took place in the capital this week and both parties felt they had reached stronger common ground when it came to regional crises, trade and bilateral relation. “There is no military solution to what is going on in Syria. The only solution is a political transition of power and the UK’s intention is to put pressure on the regime,” Burt said. However, he said no option was off the table. Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, the UAE Minster of State for Foreign Affairs, stressed that renewed pressure would be placed on the Syrian regime, which has no option but to give in. The alternative would be a unified entity representing all of Syria’s political, religious and community groups that ideally should be able to take over power by the end of the year. “The UAE tries to give great importance to the Geneva Convention and we prefer a political solution,” said Dr Gargash. The EU move late on Monday lifting an arms embargo on Syria sparked broad political fallout. Russia, which has been a strong supporter of the Syrian government, criticised the decision and acknowledged its anti-aircraft missile sale to Syria. Israeli answered Russia’s pledge by warning that it would be prepared to attack any such missile shipments. In London, Foreign Secretary William Hague said in a statement that the EU move to end the arms embargo on the rebels would send a clear signal to the Assad regime that it had to negotiate seriously, and that all options remained on the table if it refuses to do so. Regarding the Lebanese militant group’s decision to intervene in Syria, Dr Gargash said: “Hezbollah’s decision sheds light on the real conviction of this organisation, which claims its only purpose is to keep Israelis out of Lebanon. “Hezbollah’s arms are sectarian, directed towards countries like Syria and Lebanon. These intentions were known, but now they were just made public by Hezbollah’s declaration of interfering in Syria,” he explained. Syrian rebel chief Salim Idriss warned on Tuesday that if Hezbollah fighters do not stop their aggression in Syria, where they are backing government troops, “we will take all measures to hunt” them, “even in hell”. Hezbollah’s fighting in Syria would drag Lebanon into the conflict, Dr Gargash said. “Syria has become a safe heaven for jihadists. We have reached a very complex situation and now we are trying to create an agreement to end the crises through Geneva Convention, but it is a mine field,” stressed Dr Gargash. One worry is Russia, but minister Burt thinks that the country should use its influence with the Syrian regime to bring changes, rather than oppose a political power transition. “The urgency of the situation is so dramatic that by the end of the year there would be 10 million plus people displaced if Syria doesn’t end its crises,” said Burt. Other topics of discussion between the two nations were Iran-UAE relations which, according to Dr Gargash, would greatly improve if Iran followed the international law and returned the three occupied islands to UAE ownership. “Our position when it comes to the occupied islands is the same as it was 24 years ago. We want to solve the relations problems between the UAE and Iran and the solution is for Iran to give back the three islands or an international arbitrage,” said Dr Gargash. He also announced a renewable energy agreement to be signed “very soon” with the UK. silvia@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Saudi climber asks women to challenge themselves
Saudi climber asks women to challenge themselves (AFP) / 28 May 2013 Adventurer Raha Moharrak, the first Saudi woman and youngest Arab to conquer Everest, urged women in the the Gulf to “challenge themselves” as she arrived back in the region. Her group of four, including a Qatari royal, a Palestinian and an Iranian, was greeted with cheers and garlands of flowers on arrival from Nepal at Sharjah International Airport on Sunday night. “It was unbelievable,” an emotional 25-year-old Moharrak, covered from head to toe in a black abaya, told AFP. “I’m the first but I really hope I’m not the last,” she said. “I hope it awakens the intention in (Saudi) women to challenge themselves more.” Moharrak reached the peak of Everest on May 19, in a first for Saudi Arabia. She left her home in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on April 3 after a year-and-a-half of rigorous training. By reaching the highest point in the world, she said she has now achieved her ambition of climbing nine mountains, including in Europe, Tanzania, the South Pole and Argentina. Speaking to AFP by telephone from Jeddah, her father Hassan said: “I’m very proud of her… It’s great what she managed to tell people here and everywhere.” Moharrak, who had worked hard to convince her family to allow her to scale the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) mountain, is also the youngest Arab to reach the peak of Everest. Her parents had “faced disagreements from family members and people in Saudi Arabia in general,” she told AFP. “As a Saudi girl, it’s normal that I get negative feedback, but it was minimal and the good outweighed the bad,” she added. Awaiting her arrival at Sharjah airport was the Saudi embassy’s cultural attache in the UAE, Abdul Mohsen al-Harthi. “This is a message from a woman who wants to say ‘I have reserved a place for myself among you men’,” said al-Harthi. “The message is for men in Saudi saying that ‘I, a daughter of this country, have achieved top positions and am capable of doing whatever men can do’,” he said. “I did nothing against my culture and religion,” said Moharrak, a slim and tall brunette. “You don’t have to go against society to achieve amazing things.” Moharrak, like many other Saudi women, hopes that “we do drive one day,” but if this is difficult to bring about, “there are so many other more important things you can be great at.” Her Palestinian co-climber Raed Zidan said he had left behind a political message on Everest. “We spent a long time on the mountain… We met climbers from all over the world,” he told reporters. “I told them about the Palestinian cause, about our prisoners in the jails of the Israeli occupation.” Zidan is only the second Palestinian to summit Everest after Suzanne al-Houby completed the feat in 2011, becoming the first Arab woman to reach the top. With Moharrak and Zidan was Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Thani — a young member of Qatar’s ruling family and the emirate’s first to make the climb. Their Iranian companion, Masoud Mohammed, suffered from frostbite in his foot which will take months to heal. All four, graduates of the American University of Sharjah in the UAE, climbed Everest to raise funds to help educate Nepalese children. Shaikh Mohammed bin Abdullah said they have succeeded in raising “one million dollars”. Continue reading
