Film Speaker
Q-TI has produced a speaker which is as thin as paper, transparent as glass, light as vinyl, and can be rolled up like tape. The speaker emits audio in all directions, and can be printed or painted with any image.
Film Speaker is made of a piezoelectric coating bonded with PVDF (Poly Vinylidene Fluoride). Previously, it had been very difficult to adhere any material to a PVDF surface. However, a new surface modification technology makes it possible to form electrodes on the PVDF surface with strong adhesion.
After the polymer surface is irradiated by a low energy ion beam in a reactive gas environment, polar functional groups can be formed on the surface and change into a hydrophilic state. This IAR treated polymer can be easily printed with strong adhesion. Ultra flat and uniform film can be obtained using a P&I coating technique (PICT).
Electrical signal from audio source, such as tape or CD player, is transmitted to a speaker via electric wire or wave. Then a diaphragm vibrates air and reproduces the original sound. Conventional speakers occupy significant space and require a fixed form like a cone or oval shape in order to reproduce good sound with the help of resonance. There are also many ceramic parts in a conventional speaker and many steps are required for the parts to be created.
Film Speaker, on the other hand, is made with a simple process. A simple sandwich structure is created by forming polymeric electrodes on both sides of the surface-modified PVDF film. Sound can then be generated from a sheet of film without any thermal treatment and additional process. [Suggested by Gary Cruce, Seattle.]
3 Comments:
Since there's also paper thin screens that are being developed, sone technology may me possible that we could make paper-thin portable TV sets that has a built-in paper-thin Antanna, battery, and solar panels.
Other posibilities in the future may also include paper-thin MP3 players, paper-thin video players, or even paper-thin computers, given that chips and flash/memory cards can be paper thin. Imagine somebody bringing an electronic notebook to class with a stylis pen for digital writing.
In the future, we may se 3D paper thin displays that the images may actually "pop" out at you. Now That's Star Trek technology.
Great article. Who is the manufacturer of this new material?
Where can I find out more about this material? Where can I purchase? Who is Q-TI? What is their website?
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