research paper of electronics and communication

Electronics Research Paper Topics

This list of electronics research paper topics provides the list of 30 potential topics for research papers and an overview article on the history of electronics.

1. Applications of Superconductivity

The 1986 Applied Superconductivity Conference proclaimed, ‘‘Applied superconductivity has come of age.’’ The claim reflected only 25 years of development, but was justifiable due to significant worldwide interest and investment. For example, the 1976 annual budget for superconducting systems exceeded $30 million in the U.S., with similar efforts in Europe and Japan. By 1986 the technology had matured impressively into applications for the energy industry, the military, transportation, high-energy physics, electronics, and medicine. The announcement of high-temperature superconductivity just two months later brought about a new round of dramatic developments.

Academic Writing, Editing, Proofreading, And Problem Solving Services

Get 10% off with 24start discount code, 2. discovery of superconductivity.

As the twenty-first century began, an array of superconducting applications in high-speed electronics, medical imaging, levitated transportation, and electric power systems are either having, or will soon have, an impact on the daily life of millions. Surprisingly, at the beginning of the twentieth century, the discovery of superconductivity was completely unanticipated and unimagined.

In 1911, three years after liquefying helium, H. Kammerlingh Onnes of the University of Leiden discovered superconductivity while investigating the temperature-dependent resistance of metals below 4.2Kelvin. Later reporting on experiments conducted in 1911, he described the disappearance of the resistance of mercury, stating, ‘‘Within some hundredths of a degree came a sudden fall, not foreseen [by existing theories of resistance]. Mercury has passed into a new state, which . . . may be called the superconductive state.’’

3. Electric Motors

The main types of electric motors that drove twentieth century technology were developed toward the end of the nineteenth century, with direct current (DC) motors being introduced before alternating current (AC) ones. Most important initially was the ‘‘series’’ DC motor, used in electric trolleys and trains from the 1880s onward. The series motor exerts maximum torque on starting and then accelerates to its full running speed, the ideal characteristic for traction work. Where speed control independent of the load is required in such applications as crane and lift drives, the ‘‘shunt’’ DC motor is more suitable.

4. Electronic Calculators

The electronic calculator is usually inexpensive and pocket-sized, using solar cells for its power and having a gray liquid crystal display (LCD) to show the numbers. Depending on the sophistication, the calculator might simply perform the basic mathematical functions (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) or might include scientific functions (square, log, trig). For a slightly higher cost, the calculator will probably include programmable scientific and business functions. At the end of the twentieth century, the electronic calculator was as commonplace as a screwdriver and helped people deal with all types of mathematics on an everyday basis. Its birth and growth were early steps on the road to today’s world of computing.

5. Electronic Communications

The broad use of digital electronic message communications in most societies by the end of the 20th century can be attributed to a myriad of reasons. Diffusion was incremental and evolutionary. Digital communication technology was seeded by large-scale funding for military projects that broke technological ground, however social needs and use drove systems in unexpected ways and made it popular because these needs were embraced. Key technological developments happened long before diffusion into society, and it was only after popularity of the personal computer that global and widespread use became commonplace. The Internet was an important medium in this regard, however the popular uses of it were well established long before its success. Collaborative developments with open, mutually agreed standards were key factors in broader diffusion of the low-level transmission of digital data, and provided resistance to technological lock-in by any commercial player. By the twenty-first century, the concept of interpersonal electronic messaging was accepted as normal and taken for granted by millions around the world, where infrastructural and political freedoms permitted. As a result, traditional lines of information control and mass broadcasting were challenged, although it remains to be seen what, if any, long-term impact this will have on society.

6. Electronic Control Technology

The advancement of electrical engineering in the twentieth century made a fundamental change in control technology. New electronic devices including vacuum tubes (valves) and transistors were used to replace electromechanical elements in conventional controllers and to develop new types of controllers. In these practices, engineers discovered basic principles of control theory that could be further applied to design electronic control systems.

7. Fax Machine

Fax technology was especially useful for international commercial communication, which was traditionally the realm of the Telex machine, which only relayed Western alpha-numeric content. A fax machine could transmit a page of information regardless of what information it contained, and this led to rapid and widespread adoption in developing Asian countries during the 1980s. With the proliferation of the Internet and electronic e-mail in the last decade of the twentieth century, fax technology became less used for correspondence. At the close of the 20th century, the fax machine was still widely used internationally for the transmission of documents of all forms, with the ‘‘hard copy’’ aspect giving many a sense of permanence that other electronic communication lacked.

8. Hall Effect Devices

The ‘‘Hall effect,’’ discovered in 1879 by American physicist Edwin H. Hall, is the electrical potential produced when a magnetic field is perpendicular to a conductor or semiconductor that is carrying current. This potential is a product of the buildup of charges in that conductor. The magnetic field makes a transverse force on the charge carriers, resulting in the charge being moved to one of the sides of the conductor. Between the sides of the conductor, measurable voltage is yielded from the interaction and balancing of the polarized charge and the magnetic influence.

Hall effect devices are commonly used as magnetic field sensors, or alternatively if a known magnetic field is applied, the sensor can be used to measure the current in a conductor, without actually plugging into it (‘‘contactless potentiometers’’). Hall sensors can also be used as magnetically controlled switches, and as a contactless method of detecting rotation and position, sensing ferrous objects.

9. Infrared Detectors

Infrared detectors rely on the change of a physical characteristic to sense illumination by infrared radiation (i.e., radiation having a wavelength longer than that of visible light). The origins of such detectors lie in the nineteenth century, although their development, variety and applications exploded during the twentieth century. William Herschel (c. 1800) employed a thermometer to detect this ‘‘radiant heat’’; Macedonio Melloni, (c. 1850) invented the ‘‘thermochrose’’ to display spatial differences of irradiation as color patterns on a temperature-sensitive surface; and in 1882 William Abney found that photographic film could be sensitized to respond to wavelengths beyond the red end of the spectrum. Most infrared detectors, however, convert infrared radiation into an electrical signal via a variety of physical effects. Here, too, 19th century innovations continued in use well into the 21st century.

10. Integrated Circuits Design and Use

Integrated circuits (ICs) are electronic devices designed to integrate a large number of microscopic electronic components, normally connected by wires in circuits, within the same substrate material. According to the American engineer Jack S. Kilby, they are the realization of the so-called ‘‘monolithic idea’’: building an entire circuit out of silicon or germanium. ICs are made out of these materials because of their properties as semiconductors— materials that have a degree of electrical conductivity between that of a conductor such as metal and that of an insulator (having almost no conductivity at low temperatures). A piece of silicon containing one circuit is called a die or chip. Thus, ICs are known also as microchips. Advances in semiconductor technology in the 1960s (the miniaturization revolution) meant that the number of transistors on a single chip doubled every two years, and led to lowered microprocessor costs and the introduction of consumer products such as handheld calculators.

11. Integrated Circuits Fabrication

The fabrication of integrated circuits (ICs) is a complicated process that consists primarily of the transfer of a circuit design onto a piece of silicon (the silicon wafer). Using a photolithographic technique, the areas of the silicon wafer to be imprinted with electric circuitry are covered with glass plates (photomasks), irradiated with ultraviolet light, and treated with chemicals in order to shape a circuit’s pattern. On the whole, IC manufacture consists of four main stages:

• Preparation of a design
• Preparation of photomasks and silicon wafers
• Testing and packaging

Preparing an IC design consists of drafting the circuit’s electronic functions within the silicon board. This process has radically changed over the years due to the increasing complexity of design and the number of electronic components contained within the same IC. For example, in 1971, the Intel 4004 microprocessor was designed by just three engineers, while in the 1990s the Intel Pentium was designed by a team of 100 engineers. Moreover, the early designs were produced with traditional drafting techniques, while from the late 1970s onward the introduction of computer-aided design (CAD) techniques completely changed the design stage. Computers are used to check the design and simulate the operations of perspective ICs in order to optimize their performance. Thus, the IC drafted design can be modified up to 400 times before going into production.

12. Josephson Junction Devices

One of the most important implications of quantum physics is the existence of so-called tunneling phenomena in which elementary particles are able to cross an energy barrier on subatomic scales that it would not be possible for them to traverse were they subject to the laws of classical mechanics. In 1973 the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to Brian Josephson, Ivan Giaever and Leo Esaki for their work in this field. Josephson’s contribution consisted of a number of important theoretical predictions made while a doctoral student at Cambridge University. His work was confirmed experimentally within a year of its publication in 1961, and practical applications were commercialized within ten years.

13. Laser Applications

Lasers are employed in virtually every sector of the modern world including industry, commerce, transportation, medicine, education, science, and in many consumer devices such as CD players and laser printers. The intensity of lasers makes them ideal cutting tools since their highly focused beam cuts more accurately than machined instruments and leaves surrounding materials unaffected. Surgeons, for example, have employed carbon dioxide or argon lasers in soft tissue surgery since the early 1970s. These lasers produce infrared wavelengths of energy that are absorbed by water. Water in tissues is rapidly heated and vaporized, resulting in disintegration of the tissue. Visible wavelengths (argon ion laser) coagulate tissue. Far-ultraviolet wavelengths (higher photon energy, as produced by excimer lasers) break down molecular bonds in target tissue and ‘‘ablate’’ tissue without heating. Excimer lasers have been used in corneal surgery since 1984. Short pulses only affect the surface area of interest and not deeper tissues. The extremely small size of the beam, coupled with optical fibers, enables today’s surgeons to conduct surgery deep inside the human body often without a single cut on the exterior. Blue lasers, developed in 1994 by Shuji Nakamura of Nichia Chemical Industries of Japan, promise even more precision than the dominant red lasers currently used and will further revolutionize surgical cutting techniques.

14. Laser Theory and Operation

Lasers (an acronym for light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation) provide intense, focused beams of light whose unique properties enable them to be employed in a wide range of applications in the modern world. The key idea underlying lasers originated with Albert Einstein who published a paper in 1916 on Planck’s distribution law, within which he described what happens when additional energy is introduced into an atom. Atoms have a heavy and positively charged nucleus surrounded by groups of extremely light and negatively charged electrons. Electrons orbit the atom in a series of ‘‘fixed’’ levels based upon the degree of electromagnetic attraction between each single electron and the nucleus. Various orbital levels also represent different energy levels. Normally electrons remain as close to the nucleus as their energy level permits, with the consequence that an atom’s overall energy level is minimized. Einstein realized that when energy is introduced to an atom; for example, through an atomic collision or through electrical stimulation, one or more electrons become excited and move to a higher energy level. This condition exists temporarily before the electron returns to its former energy level. When this decay phenomenon occurs, a photon of light is emitted. Einstein understood that since the energy transitions within the atom are always identical, the energy and the wavelength of the stimulated photon of light are also predictable; that is, a specific type of transition within an atom will yield a photon of light of a specific wavelength. Hendrick Kramers and Werner Heisenberg obtained a series of more extensive calculations of the effects of these stimulated emissions over the next decade. The first empirical evidence supporting these theoretical calculations occurred between 1926 and 1930 in a series of experiments involving electrical discharges in neon.

15. Lasers in Optoelectronics

Optoelectronics, the field combining optics and electronics, is dependent on semiconductor (diode) lasers for its existence. Mass use of semiconductor lasers has emerged with the advent of CD and DVD technologies, but it is the telecommunications sector that has primarily driven the development of lasers for optoelectronic systems. Lasers are used to transmit voice, data, or video signals down fiber-optic cables.

While the success of lasers within telecommunication systems seems unquestioned thanks to their utility in long-distance large-capacity, point-to-point links, these lasers also find use in many other applications and are ubiquitous in the developed world. Their small physical size, low power operation, ease of modulation (via simple input current variation) and small beam size mean that these lasers are now part of our everyday world, from CDs and DVDs, to supermarket checkouts and cosmetic medicine.

16. Light Emitting Diodes

Light emitting diodes, or LEDs, are semiconductor devices that emit monochromatic light once an electric current passes through it. The color of light emitted from LEDs depends not on the color of the bulb, but on the emission’s wavelength. Typically made of inorganic materials like gallium or silicon, LEDs have found frequent use as ‘‘pilot,’’ or indicator, lights for electronic devices. Unlike incandescent light bulbs, which generate light from ‘‘heat glow,’’ LEDs create light more efficiently and are generally more durable than traditional light sources.

17. Lighting Techniques

In 1900 electric lighting in the home was a rarity. Carbon filament incandescent lamps had been around for 20 years, but few households had electricity. Arc lamps were used in streets and large buildings such as railway stations. Domestic lighting was by candle, oil and gas.

The stages of the lightning techniques evolution are the following:

• Non-Electric Lighting
• Electric Lighting: Filament Lamps
• Electric Lighting: Discharge Lamps
• Electric Lighting: Fluorescent Lamps
• Electric Lighting: LED Lamps

18. Mechanical and Electromechanical Calculators

The widespread use of calculating devices in the twentieth century is intimately linked to the rise of large corporations and to the increasing role of mathematical calculation in science and engineering. In the business setting, calculators were used to efficiently process financial information. In science and engineering, calculators speeded up routine calculations. The manufacture and sale of calculators was a widespread industry, with major firms in most industrialized nations. However, the manufacture of mechanical calculators declined very rapidly in the 1970s with the introduction of electronic calculators, and firms either diversified into other product lines or went out of business. By the end of the twentieth century, slide rules, adding machines, and other mechanical calculators were no longer being manufactured.

19. Mobile (Cell) Telephones

In the last two decades of the twentieth century, mobile or cell phones developed from a minority communication tool, characterized by its prevalence in the 1980s among young professionals, to a pervasive cultural object. In many developed countries, more than three quarters of the population owned a cell phone by the end of the 20th century.

Cell phone technology is a highly evolved form of the personal radio systems used by truck drivers (citizens band, or CB, radio) and police forces in which receiver/transmitter units communicate with one another or a base antenna. Such systems work adequately over short distances with a low volume of traffic but cannot be expanded to cope with mass communication due to the limited space (bandwidth) available in the electromagnetic spectrum. Transmitting and receiving on one frequency, they allow for talking or listening but not both simultaneously.

For mobile radio systems to make the step up to effective telephony, a large number of two-way conversations needed to be accommodated, requiring a duplex channel (two separate frequencies, taking up double the bandwidth). In order to establish national mobile phone networks without limiting capacity or the range of travel of handsets, a number of technological improvements had to occur.

20. Photocopiers

The photocopier, copier, or copying machine, as it is variously known, is a staple of modern life. Copies by the billions are produced not only in the office but also on machines available to the public in libraries, copy shops, stationery stores, supermarkets, and a wide variety of other commercial facilities. Modern xerographic copiers, produced by a number of manufacturers, are available as desktop models suitable for the home as well as the small office. Many modern copiers reproduce in color as well as black and white, and office models can rival printing presses in speed of operation.

21. Photosensitive Detectors

Sensing radiation from ultraviolet to optical wavelengths and beyond is an important part of many devices. Whether analyzing the emission of radiation, chemical solutions, detecting lidar signals, fiber-optic communication systems, or imaging of medical ionizing radiation, detectors are the final link in any optoelectronic experiment or process.

Detectors fall into two groups: thermal detectors (where radiation is absorbed and the resulting temperature change is used to generate an electrical output) and photon (quantum) detectors. The operation of photon detectors is based on the photoelectric effect, in which the radiation is absorbed within a metal or semiconductor by direct interaction with electrons, which are excited to a higher energy level. Under the effect of an electric field these carriers move and produce a measurable electric current. The photon detectors show a selective wavelength-dependent response per unit incident radiation power.

22. Public and Private Lighting

At the turn of the 20th century, lighting was in a state of flux. In technical terms, a number of emerging lighting technologies jostled for economic dominance. In social terms, changing standards of illumination began to transform cities, the workplace, and the home. In design terms, the study of illumination as a science, as an engineering profession, and as an applied art was becoming firmly established. In the last decades of the 20th century, the technological and social choices in lighting attained considerable stability both technically and socially. Newer forms of compact fluorescent lighting, despite their greater efficiency, have not significantly replaced incandescent bulbs in homes owing to higher initial cost. Low-pressure sodium lamps, on the other hand, have been adopted increasingly for street and architectural lighting owing to lower replacement and maintenance costs. As with fluorescent lighting in the 1950s, recent lighting technologies have found niche markets rather than displacing incandescents, which have now been the dominant lighting system for well over a century.

23. Quantum Electronic Devices

Quantum theory, developed during the 1920s to explain the behavior of atoms and the absorption and emission of light, is thought to apply to every kind of physical system, from individual elementary particles to macroscopic systems such as lasers. In lasers, stimulated transitions between discrete or quantized energy levels is a quantum electronic phenomena (discussed in the entry Lasers, Theory and Operation). Stimulated transitions are also the central phenomena in atomic clocks. Semiconductor devices such as the transistor also rely on the arrangement of quantum energy levels into a valence band and a conduction band separated by an energy gap, but advanced quantum semiconductor devices were not possible until advances in fabrication techniques such as molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) developed in the 1960s made it possible to grow extremely pure single crystal semiconductor structures one atomic layer at a time.

In most electronic devices and integrated circuits, quantum phenomena such as quantum tunneling and electron diffraction—where electrons behave not as particles but as waves—are of no significance, since the device is much larger than the wavelength of the electron (around 100 nanometers, where one nanometer is 109 meters or about 4 atoms wide). Since the early 1980s however, researchers have been aware that as the overall device size of field effect transistors decreased, small-scale quantum mechanical effects between components, plus the limitations of materials and fabrication techniques, would sooner or later inhibit further reduction in the size of conventional semiconductor transistors. Thus to produce devices on ever-smaller integrated circuits (down to 25 nanometers in length), conventional microelectronic devices would have to be replaced with new device concepts that take advantage of the quantum mechanical effects that dominate on the nanometer scale, rather than function in despite of them. Such solid state ‘‘nanoelectronics’’ offers the potential for increased speed and density of information processing, but mass fabrication on this small scale presented formidable challenges at the end of the 20th century.

24. Quartz Clocks and Watches

The wristwatch and the domestic clock were completely reinvented with all-new electronic components beginning about 1960. In the new electronic timepieces, a tiny sliver of vibrating quartz in an electrical circuit provides the time base and replaces the traditional mechanical oscillator, the swinging pendulum in the clock or the balance wheel in the watch. Instead of an unwinding spring or a falling weight, batteries power these quartz clocks and watches, and integrated circuits substitute for intricate mechanical gear trains.

25. Radio-Frequency Electronics

Radio was originally conceived as a means for interpersonal communications, either person-toperson, or person-to-people, using analog waveforms containing either Morse code or actual sound. The use of radio frequencies (RF) designed to carry digital data in the form of binary code rather than voice and to replace physical wired connections between devices began in the 1970s, but the technology was not commercialized until the 1990s through digital cellular phone networks known as personal communications services (PCS) and an emerging group of wireless data network technologies just reaching commercial viability. The first of these is a so-called wireless personal area network (WPAN) technology known as Bluetooth. There are also two wireless local area networks (WLANs), generally grouped under the name Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity): (1) Wi-Fi, also known by its Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) designation 802.11b, and (2) Wi-Fi5 (802.11a).

26. Rectifiers

Rectifiers are electronic devices that are used to control the flow of current. They do this by having conducting and nonconducting states that depend on the polarity of the applied voltage. A major function in electronics is the conversion from alternating current (AC) to direct current (DC) where the output is only one-half (either positive or negative) of the input. Rectifiers that are currently, or have been, in use include: point-contact diodes, plate rectifiers, thermionic diodes, and semiconductor diodes. There are various ways in which rectifiers may be classified in terms of the signals they encounter; this contribution will consider two extremes—high frequency and heavy current—that make significantly different demands on device design.

27. Strobe Flashes

Scarcely a dozen years after photography was announced to the world in 1839, William Henry Fox Talbot produced the first known flash photograph. Talbot, the new art’s co-inventor, fastened a printed paper onto a disk, set it spinning as fast as possible, and then discharged a spark to expose a glass plate negative. The words on the paper could be read on the photograph. Talbot believed that the potential for combining electric sparks and photography was unlimited. In 1852, he pronounced, ‘‘It is in our power to obtain the pictures of all moving objects, no matter in how rapid motion they may be, provided we have the means of sufficiently illuminating them with a sudden electric flash.’’

The electronic stroboscope fulfills Talbot’s prediction. It is a repeating, short-duration light source used primarily for visual observation and photography of high-speed phenomena. The intensity of the light emitted from strobes also makes them useful as signal lights on communication towers, airport runways, emergency vehicles, and more. Though ‘‘stroboscope’’ actually refers to a repeating flash and ‘‘electronic flash’’ denotes a single burst, both types are commonly called ‘‘strobes.’’

28. Transistors

Early experiments in transistor technology were based on the analogy between the semiconductor and the vacuum tube: the ability to both amplify and effectively switch an electrical signal on or off (rectification). By 1940, Russell Ohl at Bell Telephone Laboratories, among others, had found that impure silicon had both positive (ptype material with holes) and negative (n-type) regions. When a junction is created between n-type material and p-type material, electrons on the ntype side are attracted across the junction to fill holes in the other layer. In this way, the n-type semiconductor becomes positively charged and the p-type becomes negatively charged. Holes move in the opposite direction, thus reinforcing the voltage built up at the junction. The key point is that current flows from one side to the other when a positive voltage is applied to the layers (‘‘forward biased’’).

29. Travelling Wave Tubes

One of the most important devices for the amplification of radio-frequency (RF) signals— which range in frequency from 3 kilohertz to 300 gigahertz—is the traveling wave tube (TWT). When matched with its power supply unit, or electronic power conditioner (EPC), the combination is known as a traveling wave tube amplifier (TWTA). The amplification of RF signals is important in many aspects of science and technology, since the ability to increase the strength of a very low-power input signal is fundamental to all types of long-range communications, radar and electronic warfare.

30. Vacuum Tubes/Valves

The vacuum tube has its roots in the late nineteenth century when Thomas A. Edison conducted experiments with electric bulbs in 1883. Edison’s light bulbs consisted of a conducting filament mounted in a glass bulb. Passing electricity through the filament caused it to heat up and radiate light. A vacuum in the tube prevented the filament from burning up. Edison noted that electric current would flow from the bulb filament to a positively charged metal plate inside the tube. This phenomenon, the one-way flow of current, was called the Edison Effect. Edison himself could not explain the filament’s behavior. He felt this effect was interesting but unimportant and patented it as a matter of course. It was only fifteen years later that Joseph John Thomson, a physics professor at the Cavendish Laboratory at the University of Cambridge in the U.K., discovered the electron and understood the significance of what was occurring in the tube. He identified the filament rays as a stream of particles, now called electrons. In a range of papers from 1901 to 1916, O.W. Richardson explained the electron behavior. Today the Edison Effect is known as thermionic emission.

History of Electronics

Few of the basic tasks that electronic technologies perform, such as communication, computation, amplification, or automatic control, are unique to electronics. Most were anticipated by the designers of mechanical or electromechanical technologies in earlier years. What distinguishes electronic communication, computation, and control is often linked to the instantaneous action of the devices, the delicacy of their actions compared to mechanical systems, their high reliability, or their tiny size.

The electronics systems introduced between the late nineteenth century and the end of the twentieth century can be roughly divided into the applications related to communications (including telegraphy, telephony, broadcasting, and remote detection) and the more recently developed fields involving digital information and computation. In recent years these two fields have tended to converge, but it is still useful to consider them separately for a discussion of their history.

The origins of electronics as distinguished from other electrical technologies can be traced to 1880 and the work of Thomas Edison. While investigating the phenomenon of the blackening of the inside surface of electric light bulbs, Edison built an experimental bulb that included a third, unused wire in addition to the two wires supporting the filament. When the lamp was operating, Edison detected a flow of electricity from the filament to the third wire, through the evacuated space in the bulb. He was unable to explain the phenomenon, and although he thought it would be useful in telegraphy, he failed to commercialize it. It went unexplained for about 20 years, until the advent of wireless telegraphic transmission by radio waves. John Ambrose Fleming, an experimenter in radio, not only explained the Edison effect but used it to detect radio waves. Fleming’s ‘‘valve’’ as he called it, acted like a one-way valve for electric waves, and could be used in a circuit to convert radio waves to electric pulses so that that incoming Morse code signals could be heard through a sounder or earphone.

As in the case of the Fleming valve, many early electronic devices were used first in the field of communications, mainly to enhance existing forms of technology. Initially, for example, telephony (1870s) and radio (1890s) were accomplished using ordinary electrical and electromechanical circuits, but eventually both were transformed through the use of electronic devices. Many inventors in the late nineteenth century sought a functional telephone ‘‘relay’’; that is, something to refresh a degraded telephone signal to allow long distance telephony. Several people simultaneously recognized the possibility of developing a relay based on the Fleming valve. The American inventor Lee de Forest was one of the first to announce an electronic amplifier using a modified Fleming valve, which he called the Audion. While he initially saw it as a detector and amplifier of radio waves, its successful commercialization occurred first in the telephone industry. The sound quality and long-distance capability of telephony was enhanced and extended after the introduction of the first electronic amplifier circuits in 1907. In the U.S., where vast geographic distances separated the population, the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) introduced improved vacuum tube amplifiers in 1913, which were later used to establish the first coast-to-coast telephone service in 1915 (an overland distance of nearly 5000 kilometers).

These vacuum tubes soon saw many other uses, such as a public-address systems constructed as early as 1920, and radio transmitters and receivers. The convergence of telephony and radio in the form of voice broadcasting was technically possible before the advent of electronics, but its application was greatly enhanced through the use of electronics both in the radio transmitter and in the receiver.

World War I saw the applications of electronics diversify somewhat to include military applications. Mostly, these were modifications of existing telegraph, telephone, and radio systems, but applications such as ground-to-air radio telephony were novel. The pressing need for large numbers of electronic components, especially vacuum tubes suitable for military use, stimulated changes in their design and manufacture and contributed to improving quality and falling prices. After the war, the expanded capacity of the vacuum tube industry contributed to a boom in low-cost consumer radio receivers. Yet because of the withdrawal of the military stimulus and the onset of the Great Depression, the pace of change slowed in the 1930s. One notable exception was in the field of television. Radio broadcasting became such a phenomenal commercial success that engineers and businessmen were envisioning how ‘‘pictures with sound’’ would replace ordinary broadcasting, even in the early 1930s. Germany, Great Britain, and the U.S. all had rudimentary television systems in place by 1939, although World War II would bring nearly a complete halt to these early TV broadcasts.

World War II saw another period of rapid change, this one much more dramatic than that of World War I. Not only were radio communications systems again greatly improved, but for the first time the field of electronics engineering came to encompass much more than communication. While it was the atomic bomb that is most commonly cited as the major technological outcome of World War II, radar should probably be called the weapon that won the war. To describe radar as a weapon is somewhat inaccurate, but there is no doubt that it had profound effects upon the way that naval, aerial, and ground combat was conducted. Using radio waves as a sort of searchlight, radar could act as an artificial eye capable of seeing through clouds or fog, over the horizon, or in the dark. Furthermore, it substituted for existing methods of calculating the distance and speed of targets. Radar’s success hinged on the development of new electronic components, particularly new kinds of vacuum tubes such as the klystron and magnetron, which were oriented toward the generation of microwaves. Subsidized by military agencies on both sides of the Atlantic (as well as Japan) during World War II, radar sets were eventually installed in aircraft and ships, used in ground stations, and even built into artillery shells. The remarkable engineering effort that was launched to make radar systems smaller, more energy efficient, and more reliable would mark the beginning of an international research program in electronics miniaturization that continues today. Radar technology also had many unexpected applications elsewhere, such as the use of microwave beams as a substitute for long-distance telephone cables. Microwave communication is also used extensively today for satellite-to-earth communication.

The second major outcome of electronics research during World War II was the effort to build an electronic computer. Mechanical adders and calculators were widely used in science, business, and government by the early twentieth century, and had reached an advanced state of design. Yet the problems peculiar to wartime, especially the rapid calculation of mountains of ballistics data, drove engineers to look for ways to speed up the machines. At the same time, some sought a calculator that could be reprogrammed as computational needs changed. While computers played a role in the war, it was not until the postwar period that they came into their own. In addition, computer research during World War II contributed little to the development of vacuum tubes, although in later years computer research would drive certain areas of semiconductor electron device research.

While the forces of the free market are not to be discounted, the role of the military in electronics development during World War II was of paramount importance. More-or-less continuous military support for research in electronic devices and systems persisted during the second half of the twentieth century too, and many more new technologies emerged from this effort. The sustained effort to develop more compact, rugged devices such as those demanded by military systems would converge with computer development during the 1950s, especially after the invention of the transistor in late 1947.

The transistor was not a product of the war, and in fact its development started in the 1930s and was delayed by the war effort. A transistor is simply a very small substitute for a vacuum tube, but beyond that it is an almost entirely new sort of device. At the time of its invention, its energy efficiency, reliability, and diminutive size suggested new possibilities for electronic systems. The most famous of these possibilities was related to computers and systems derived from or related to computers, such as robotics or industrial automation. The impetus for the transistor was a desire within the telephone industry to create an energy-efficient, reliable substitute for the vacuum tube. Once introduced, the military pressed hard to accelerate its development, as the need emerged for improved electronic navigational devices for aircraft and missiles.

There were many unanticipated results of the substitution of transistors for vacuum tubes. Because they were so energy efficient, transistors made it much more practical to design battery powered systems. The small transistor radio (known in some countries simply as ‘‘the transistor’’), introduced in the 1950s, is credited with helping to popularize rock and roll music. It is also worth noting that many developing countries could not easily provide broadcasting services until the diffusion of battery operated transistor receivers because of the lack of central station electric power. The use of the transistor also allowed designers to enhance existing automotive radios and tape players, contributing eventually to a greatly expanded culture of in-car listening. There were other important outcomes as well; transistor manufacture provided access to the global electronics market for Asian radio manufacturers, who improved manufacturing methods to undercut their U.S. competitors during the 1950s and 1960s. Further, the transistor’s high reliability nearly eliminated the profession of television and radio repair, which had supported tens of thousands of technicians in the U.S. alone before about 1980.

However, for all its remarkable features, the transistor also had its limitations; while it was an essential part of nearly every cutting-edge technology of the postwar period, it was easily outperformed by the older technology of vacuum tubes in some areas. The high-power microwave transmitting devices in communications satellites and spacecraft, for example, nearly all relied on special vacuum tubes through the end of the twentieth century, because of the physical limitations of semiconductor devices. For the most part, however, the transistor made the vacuum tube obsolete by about 1960.

The attention paid to the transistor in the 1950s and 1960s made the phrase ‘‘solid-state’’ familiar to the general public, and the new device spawned many new companies. However, its overall impact pales in comparison to its successor—the integrated circuit. Integrated circuits emerged in the late 1950s, were immediately adopted by the military for small computer and communications systems, and were then used in civilian computers and related applications from the 1960s. Integrated circuits consist of multiple transistors fabricated simultaneously from layers of semiconductor and other materials. The transistors, interconnecting ‘‘wires,’’ and many of the necessary circuit elements such as capacitors and resistors are fabricated on the ‘‘chip.’’ Such a circuit eliminates much of the laborious process of assembling an electronic system such as a computer by hand, and results in a much smaller product. The ability to miniaturize components through integrated circuit fabrication techniques would lead to circuits so vanishingly small that it became difficult to connect them to the systems of which they were a part. The plastic housings or ‘‘packages’’ containing today’s microprocessor chips measure just a few centimeters on a side, and yet the actual circuits inside are much smaller. Some of the most complex chips made today contain many millions of transistors, plus millions more solid-state resistors and other passive components.

While used extensively in military and aerospace applications, the integrated circuit became famous as a component in computer systems. The logic and memory circuits of digital computers, which have been the focus of much research, consist mainly of switching devices. Computers were first constructed in the 1930s with electromechanical relays as switching devices, then with vacuum tubes, transistors, and finally integrated circuits. Most early computers used off-the-shelf tubes and transistors, but with the advent of the integrated circuit, designers began to call for components designed especially for computers. It was clear to engineers at the time that all the circuits necessary to build a computer could be placed on one chip (or a small set of chips), and in fact, the desire to create a ‘‘computer on a chip’’ led to the microprocessor, introduced around 1970. The commercial impetus underlying later generations of computer chip design was not simply miniaturization (although there are important exceptions) or energy efficiency, but also the speed of operation, reliability, and lower cost. However, the inherent energy efficiency and small size of the resulting systems did enable the construction of smaller computers, and the incorporation of programmable controllers (special purpose computers) into a wide variety of other technologies. The recent merging of the computer (or computer-like systems) with so many other technologies makes it difficult to summarize the current status of digital electronic systems. As the twentieth century drew to a close, computer chips were widely in use in communications and entertainment devices, in industrial robots, in automobiles, in household appliances, in telephone calling cards, in traffic signals, and in a myriad other places. The rapid evolution of the computer during the last 50 years of the twentieth century was reflected by the near-meaninglessness of its name, which no longer adequately described its functions.

From an engineering perspective, not only did electronics begin to inhabit, in an almost symbiotic fashion, other technological systems after about 1950, but these electronics systems were increasingly dominated by the use of semiconductor technology. After virtually supplanting the vacuum tube in the 1950s, the semiconductor-based transistor became the technology of choice for most subsequent electronics development projects. Yet semiconducting alloys and compounds proved remarkably versatile in applications at first unrelated to transistors and chips. The laser, for example, was originally operated in a large vacuum chamber and depended on ionized gas for its operation. By the 1960s, laser research was focused on the remarkable ability of certain semiconducting materials to accomplish the same task as the ion chamber version. Today semiconductor devices are used not only as the basis of amplifiers and switches, but also for sensing light, heat, and pressure, for emitting light (as in lasers or video displays), for generating electricity (as in solar cells), and even for mechanical motion (as in micromechanical systems or MEMS).

However, semiconductor devices in ‘‘discrete’’ forms such as transistors, would probably not have had the remarkable impact of the integrated circuit. By the 1970s, when the manufacturing techniques for integrated circuits allowed high volume production, low cost, tiny size, relatively small energy needs, and enormous complexity; electronics entered a new phase of its history, having a chief characteristic of allowing electronic systems to be retrofitted into existing technologies. Low-cost microprocessors, for example, which were available from the late 1970s onward, were used to sense data from their environment, measure it, and use it to control various technological systems from coffee machines to video tape recorders. Even the human body is increasingly invaded by electronics; at the end of the twentieth century, several researchers announced the first microchips for implantation directly in the body. They were to be used to store information for retrieval by external sensors or to help deliver subcutaneous drugs. The integrated circuit has thus become part of innumerable technological and biological systems.

It is this remarkable flexibility of application that enabled designers of electronic systems to make electronics the defining technology of the late twentieth century, eclipsing both the mechanical technologies associated with the industrial revolution and the electrical and information technologies of the so-called second industrial revolution. While many in the post-World War II era once referred to an ‘‘atomic age,’’ it was in fact an era in which daily life was increasingly dominated by electronics.

Browse other Technology Research Paper Topics .

ORDER HIGH QUALITY CUSTOM PAPER

Research on the application of electronic technology in communication engineering under the background of big data

Ieee account.

• Change Username/Password
• Update Address

Purchase Details

• Payment Options
• Order History
• View Purchased Documents

Profile Information

• Communications Preferences
• Profession and Education
• Technical Interests
• US & Canada: +1 800 678 4333
• Worldwide: +1 732 981 0060
• Contact & Support
• About IEEE Xplore
• Accessibility
• Terms of Use
• Nondiscrimination Policy
• Privacy & Opting Out of Cookies

A not-for-profit organization, IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. © Copyright 2024 IEEE - All rights reserved. Use of this web site signifies your agreement to the terms and conditions.

Recent Trends in Electronics and Communication Systems

• Other Journals
• For Readers
• For Authors
• For Librarians

Announcements

• Author Guideline
• Referencing Pattern
• Sample Research Paper
• Publication Management Team

Editorial Board

• Publication Ethics & Malpractice Statement

Recent Trends in Electronics & Communication Systems (RTECS)

eISSN: 2393-8757

Click  here  for complete Editorial Board

Scientific Journal Impact Factor (SJIF):  6.202

Recent Trends in Electronics & Communication Systems (RTECS)  is a print and e-journal focused towards the rapid publication of fundamental research papers on all areas of Electronics, Communication and systems.  It's a triannual journal, started in 2014.

Journal DOI no.: 10.37591/RTECS

Readership:   Graduate, Postgraduate, Research Scholar, Faculties, Institutions, and in Industries.

Indexed in:  Google Scholar, Journal TOC, Indian Science Abstracts, Citefactor, SJIF, Index Copernicus (ICV : 57.27)

Focus and Scope Covers

• Transmission systems
• Relay Stations, Tributary stations.
• Data Terminal Equipment
• Power Line Communication Systems
• A Duplex Communication System
• A Tactical Communications System
• Electronic Sensors and Sensory Systems

All contributions to the journal are rigorously refereed and are selected on the basis of quality and originality of the work. The journal publishes the most significant new research papers or any other original contribution in the form of reviews and reports on new concepts in all areas pertaining to its scope and research being done in the world, thus ensuring its scientific priority and significance.

Submission of Paper: 

Manuscripts are invited from academicians, students, research scholars and faculties for publication consideration.

Papers are accepted for editorial consideration through email  [email protected] or [email protected]

Subject:  Electronics & Communication System

Abbreviation: RTECS

Frequency : Three issues per year

Peer Reviewed Policy

Instructions to Authors

Publisher:  STM Journals, an imprint of CELNET (Consortium e-Learning Network Pvt. Ltd.)

Address:  A-118, 1st Floor, Sector-63, Noida, Uttar Pradesh-201301, India

Phone no.:  0120-478-1215/ Email: [email protected]

Vol 10, No 1 (2023)

Table of contents, review articles.

An official website of the United States government

The .gov means it’s official. Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

The site is secure. The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

• Publications
• Account settings

Preview improvements coming to the PMC website in October 2024. Learn More or Try it out now .

• Advanced Search
• Journal List
• Nanomaterials (Basel)

A Comprehensive Review on Printed Electronics: A Technology Drift towards a Sustainable Future

Sridhar chandrasekaran.

1 Center for System Design, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Chennai Institute of Technology, Kundrathur, Chennai 600069, India

Arunkumar Jayakumar

2 Green Vehicle Technology Research Centre, Department of Automobile Engineering, SRM-Institute of Science and Technology, Kattankulathur 603203, India

Rajkumar Velu

3 Additive Manufacturing Research Laboratory (AMRL), Indian Institute of Technology Jammu, Jammu 181221, Jammu & Kashmir, India

Printable electronics is emerging as one of the fast-growing engineering fields with a higher degree of customization and reliability. Ironically, sustainable printing technology is essential because of the minimal waste to the environment. To move forward, we need to harness the fabrication technology with the potential to support traditional process. In this review, we have systematically discussed in detail the various manufacturing materials and processing technologies. The selection criteria for the assessment are conducted systematically on the manuscript published in the last 10 years (2012–2022) in peer-reviewed journals. We have discussed the various kinds of printable ink which are used for fabrication based on nanoparticles, nanosheets, nanowires, molecular formulation, and resin. The printing methods and technologies used for printing for each technology are also reviewed in detail. Despite the major development in printing technology some critical challenges needed to be addressed and critically assessed. One such challenge is the coffee ring effect, the possible methods to reduce the effect on modulating the ink environmental condition are also indicated. Finally, a summary of printable electronics for various applications across the diverse industrial manufacturing sector is presented.

1. Introduction

In the present world, semiconductor device technology is dominating the growth of the economy in the electronic manufacturing industry. As the semiconductor industry is one of the biggest industries with a wider range of products around the globe with a net worth of 646 billion dollar market by 2022 [ 1 ]. A typical electronic transistor has a semiconductor as channel material, conducting metal as the electrodes, and insulator as the gate dielectric. For complete integrated circuit process technology, a silicon wafer needs to use multiple-stage processes governed by complex and expensive machinery. Moreover, the semiconductor device fabrication process with metal etching and lift-off process introduces huge metallic waste into our environment. Traditional electronics require complex machinery involving metal etching and lift-off processes which leads to a rise in toxic metal and acid post-fabrication [ 2 ]. A leap toward sustainability with proper waste management can be achieved by incorporating manufacturing technology with reduced waste.

Furthermore, we need a promising technology that drives the manufacturing sector with the industrial 4.0 revolutions. As a consequence, there is a need for a smart manufacturing technology with minimal electronic waste through a sustainable process and AM can be one such potential option. Industries are expected to utilize AM techniques to transform the two-dimensional traditional manufacturing process into a three-dimensional process. Another important advantage of using AM is the ability to fabricate different kinds of materials such as metals [ 3 ], insulators [ 4 ], semiconductors [ 5 ], ceramics [ 6 ], and polymers [ 7 ]. In addition, AM is expected to play a significant role in semiconductor chip packaging [ 8 ] and metal interconnects [ 3 ]. As reported by Callen Votzke et al., 3D printed, metal-based interconnects show stable conductivity for 350 cycles of strain test [ 9 ]. The surface energy of the printing ink should be lesser than that of the substrate for even printing with clear resolution. The surface energy of the generally used printable electronics substrates is observed to be ~36 mNm −1 on Si/SiO 2 & glass [ 10 ] and the PET-based flexible substrate has a surface energy of ~52 mNm −1 [ 11 ]. The surface energy has a direct impact on the evaporation and distribution of the printed ink. Controlling the surface energy of the printed ink by using a lower surface energy base such as deionized water/alcohol will minimize the coffee ring effect and accelerate the evaporation process after printing [ 12 ].

Figure 1 a shows the number of publications in the web of science database by using printable electronics as the search keyword and its evident that the database shows a gradual rising trend in publications. To further analyze the ink involved in printing, we conducted another ink-based search using the keywords such as 2D materials ink, metal nanoparticle ink, and metal oxide nanoparticle ink. Once again, the results show a positive trend for 2D-materials ink and metal nanoparticle ink while metal oxide nanoparticle and other ink variants are at the early stage of research.

Recent publications in the Web of Science database using keywords, ( a ) printable electronics and ( b ) 2D material ink, metal nanoparticle ink, and metal oxide nanoparticle ink.

In this review, we holistically access the diverse manufacturing technologies to replace the traditional semiconductor process and their cross-functional applications published in the past 10 years. In addition, we discuss the various ink technologies based on metal nanoparticles, metal oxide nanoparticles, 2D materials, molecular, and resin-based ink. Moreover, we discussed in detail the various printing technologies such as inkjet printing, aerosol jet printing, extrusion printing, electrohydrodynamic printing, and light-based printing.

2. Materials and Process: Assessment

The attributes of printable electronics require high-performance ink and apparently should fulfill the desired role based on the applications such as sensors, radio frequency devices, flexible displays, and energy storage devices [ 13 ]. Generally, conducting ink is highly suitable for the fabrication of electrodes and it covers a broad range of applications in electronic devices, energy storage devices, solar panels, metamaterials, and antennas [ 14 ]. A semiconducting material is usually preferred as an active material for transistors and tactile sensors [ 15 , 16 ]. Insulating ink is preferred for the transistor gate terminal and dielectric materials for supercapacitors or other energy storage devices [ 17 , 18 ]. Printable ink can be broadly classified as metallic nanoparticle ink, metal oxide nanoparticle ink, 2D-material ink, molecular ink, and resin-based ink.

2.1. Metallic Nanoparticle Ink

Metallic nanoparticle inks are composed of metal nanoparticles, organic solvents, and stabilizing agents. On heating the coated metallic nanoparticle ink, the insulating liquids are evaporated to form a nanoparticle-based high metallic layer which is highly desirable for conducting metal lines, and electrodes [ 19 ]. Metallic nanoparticle inks are advantageous because of their superior conductivity, magnetic properties, stability to oxidation, and low-cost alternative. The metallic nanoparticle ink can be customized for tuning the electrical or magnetic properties of the ink based on the target application. For a good electrode, a highly conducting ink is generally preferred which could be obtained by choosing a conducting metal nanoparticle such as Au [ 20 ], Ag [ 21 ], Cu [ 22 ], Al [ 23 ], Co [ 24 ], Ni [ 25 ], Pt [ 26 ], Zn [ 27 ], Pd [ 28 ], and Sn [ 29 ]. Ironically, the metal nanoparticle ink is not suitable for high-temperature devices as they oxidize on exposure to air. However, nanoparticle inks based on metal oxides are desirable for electronics applications and are discussed in detail in the next section.

2.2. Metal Oxide Nanoparticle Ink

Nanoparticle ink is based on metal oxide nanoparticles which are highly stable and developed from the metal oxide nanoparticle based on copper oxide nanoparticles [ 30 ], indium tin oxide [ 31 ], zinc oxide [ 32 ], and iron oxide nanoparticles [ 33 ]. In general, metal oxide nanoparticle inks are low cost than pure metallic nanoparticle ink and simple to manufacture without any concern about oxidation [ 19 ]. Copper oxide nanoparticle ink is generally used for highly conductive metal lines and to achieve high conductivity the surface oxide is removed by treating with the reducer (reduction process) [ 34 , 35 ]. The nanoparticle ink is protected with a coating to the sintered pattern to avoid post-deposition oxidation. Indium tin oxide-based conductive ink is used for transparent electronics applications with optical transmittance of 98% [ 36 ]. The ITO-based conductive ink requires high-temperature sintering at 300 °C to achieve desired electrical conductivity [ 36 ]. ZnO is also known very well as an eco-friendly and sustainable material with zero impact on the environment. Zinc oxide is a semiconducting nanoparticle ink that acts as an alternative to ITO-based ink because of its low cost and low-temperature process [ 37 ]. Zinc oxide nanoparticles exhibit unique properties suitable for optoelectronics, photovoltaics, electronics, and various sensing applications [ 38 ]. IZO ink exhibits semiconducting nature making it desirable as a thin film transistor [ 39 ]. Iron oxide-based metallic ink is highly magnetic ink with good electrical properties [ 40 ]. The iron oxide-based metallic inks are suitable for the fabrication of printable patch antennas, inductors, and other radio frequency devices [ 41 ].

2.3. 2D-Material Ink

Recently 2D-material has been gaining rapid attention because of their low production cost and mass production alternative using solution-based processing technology. The growth of 2D materials on wafers is believed to be a challenging task and requires a high chemical vapor deposition instrument with a higher thermal budget. The printable ink using 2D materials is based on nanoflakes such as graphene [ 42 ], MoS 2 [ 43 ], WS 2 [ 44 ], MoSe 2 [ 45 ], black phosphorous [ 12 ], and h-BN [ 46 ]. Ink formulated based on h-BN is a good gate material for transistors because of its wide bandgap nature [ 47 ]. 2D-materials ink based on graphene can be used as the conducting as well as semiconducting materials which is an alternative for transistors channel and conductive electrodes for flexible electronic devices [ 48 , 49 ]. A study reported by Tian Carey et al. used porous h-BN and graphene-based ink for the fabrication of the transistor on a textile-based substrate. 2D materials such as MoS 2 and BP are indirect bandgap materials that are highly suitable for optoelectronics applications such as light emitters and photodetectors [ 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 ]. Moreover, the 2D materials exhibit nonlinear properties under optical light which further makes them suitable for nonlinear optical switches [ 55 ].

2.4. Molecular Ink

The metal and organic composition are the fundamental building blocks for the development of molecular ink and are generally based on the MOD process to produce high-quality conductive thin films on thermal sintering. The MOD-based ink is advantageous over other ink because of being particle-free, low-cost, and easily adaptable to various printing techniques. Bhavana Deore et al. [ 56 ] proposed a screen printable Cu-based molecular ink with higher printing resolution, mechanical durability, and a highly conductive path printed on the sheets of the flexible substrate (Kapton and PET). The Cu MOD ink will be a low-cost alternative to nanoparticle-based conductive ink and it is highly suitable for electronics applications such as printable antennas, bonded LEDs, and transistor’s printable electrodes with excellent electrode stability on exposure to air ambiance for 6 months.

In a study, Arnold Jason Kell et al. [ 57 ] developed a silver-based conductive molecular ink for printing flexible electronics with a sheet resistance of <10 mΩ/sq/mil and producing highly metallic conduction under extreme bending and a flexible environment. The authors also tested the feasibility of the metal traces, in developing a capacitor, inductor, and capacitor-based 3rd-order Chebyshev filter with a cut-off frequency of 1 GHz. Moreover, the conducting ink’s flexible nature makes them compatible with inkjet, aerosol jet printing, and screen-printing methods which further opens the array of opportunities in the development of electronic devices of next-generation printable electronics.

2.5. UV-Curable Ink

UV-curable ink is attracting attention in textile industries due to its mechanical strength and durability. In general, UV-curable conductive ink is prepared by mixing the UV-curable chemicals with the metallic nanoparticle to achieve evenly distributed metallic nanoparticles and a UV-curable base. UV-curable inks are required to be cured at low temperatures and have shorter curing times for utilization in a wide range of applications. In a study, Hong et al. [ 58 ] proposed a screen-printed UV-curable conductive ink based on silver nanoflakes and polymer-based reins. The UV-curable conductive ink is patterned as a confirmable antenna operating as ultra-high frequency RFID tags on the textile-based substrate. The textile-based stretchable conductive fabric will be revolutionizing the future of wearable electronic devices as the recent advancement on UV-curable ink based on silver@polypyrrole with superior structural integrity, toughness, and high conductivity on cotton fabric substrate [ 59 ]. In another study, the authors investigated the silver-based nanoparticle ink by screen printing technology on various nylon fabrics with superior electrical conductivity which is highly desirable for wearable electronic applications [ 60 ].

3. Printing Technologies

The printing of complex structures requires designing tools to design the patterns with the exact dimensional data of the device. In general, the design of the printing pattern is developed by using commercial tools such as computer-aided design, and computer-aided manufacturing tools to build the 3D structure of any complex structure which are essential for feeding the printing machine. The printing of conductive layers can be obtained by using various printing techniques such as (a) inkjet printing, (b) aerosol printing, (c) filamentary printing, (d) electrohydrodynamic printing, and (e) UV-light curing-based printing as shown in Figure 2 . Table 1 shows the comparison of various nanoparticle ink using printing technology.

Printing technologies using conducting ink ( a ) inkjet printing; ( b ) aerosol printing; ( c ) ex-trusion-based printing; and ( d ) electrohydrodynamic printing. Adapted from [ 61 ].

Comparison of nanoparticle ink used in various printing technologies.

3.1. Inkjet Printing

The inject printing operation is based on the ejection of microdroplets from the printing head and the nozzle undergoes pressure changes by the formation of the microbubbles and collapse as shown in ( Figure 2 a). The printing ink should be non-viscous for reducing the shear force during ejection from the nozzle and the viscosity of the ink should be less than 100 mPa-s for optimal printing [ 72 ]. Conversely, the inject printer based on a piezoelectric actuator controls the ink flow by contraction and expansion of the piezoelectric actuator. The inkjet printing technique is widely used to print a variety of materials such as metal nanoparticles, conducting graphene, and metal oxide nanoparticles. For a good inkjet printing system, the conducting ink of higher solubility is highly preferred to minimize the printing head clogging and improve the overall printing pattern. In a study, the 2D material based on h-BN and graphene layers is grown using an inkjet printing system as shown in Figure 3 .

( a ) Inkjet printer heterojunction transistor with graphene printed by inkjet printing technology; ( b ) cross-sectional SEM image of FET fabricated on the textile substrate; ( c , d ) optical microscopic image of the inverter and inverter input/output waveform based on FET; ( e ) measure p and n-type resistance on the applied input voltages; ( f ) OR logic gate diagram and truth table: where A & B are the input of the OR gate and OUT as the output logic with logic 0 as OFF and logic 1 as ON; ( g ) OR logic gate digital logical transition waveform (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2017 Springer Nature [ 62 ]).

Figure 3 a shows the process of the heterojunction transistor begins with the bottom gate metal PEDOT: PSS used on textile substrate and silver for the polymer substrate). The graphene and h-BN are used as the channel material for the heterojunction transistors printed on the textile. Finally, the source and drain electrodes are patterned by printing using PEDOT: PSS for textile substrate and silver for polymer substrate as shown in ( Figure 3 a). Figure 3 b shows the FE-SEM cross-sectional image of the device showing the presence of PEDOT: PSS, h-BN, and graphene layers on the Textile substrate. The proposed heterojunction FET is also fabricated on the polymer substrate with an inverter and OR logic circuit. Figure 3 c shows the optical microscopic image of the p-type and n-type transistors connected to form the inverter logic gate on the flexible polymer substrate. The electrical response of the inverter on applying a square waveform is depicted in Figure 3 d. On increasing the device input voltage, the resistance response shows the functionality of the p and n operation as marked in the red line of Figure 3 e. OR-logic functionality of the transistors by using two additional resistors and their transient response is depicted in Figure 3 f,d.

3.2. Aerosol Jet Printing

The aerosol jet printing works based on the atomization of ink by ultrasonication method as shown in ( Figure 2 b). The ultrasonic energy on the ink generates aerosol with highly desirable characteristics for jetting the aerosol. The carrier gas drives the aerosol from the ink chamber to the deposition head. Aerosol is printed onto the sample surface by driving the aerosol with sheath gas. The focusing ratio is the ratio of the sheath gas flow rate to the carrier gas flow rate as shown in Equation (1). The focusing ratio determines the quality of the metal line printed as reported by Ankit Mahajan et al. [ 67 ]. In this study, a high-resolution silver metal line was printed on a flexible polyimide substrate with a line resolution of 40 µm using aerosol jet printing as shown in Figure 4 a–i. The focusing ratio directly influences the width and thickness of the silver metal line as depicted in Figure 4 j. On increasing the focusing ratio and stage speed, the width of the metal line is decreased. In addition, by increasing the focusing ratio and decreasing the stage speed the thickness of the printed line increases. Furthermore, the printing efficiency of aerosol jet printing can be improved by controlling the focusing ratio of the aerosol jet printer tuned for modulating the line width of the printed line [ 67 ]. The aerosol jet printing technology is a promising alternative technology for the fabrication of metal interconnects via semiconductor ICs [ 73 ].

( a – g ) Aerosol jet printed silver metal line and patterns on the polyimide substrate; ( h , i ) SEM image of the metal line; ( j ) relationship of focus ratio on thickness and width of the metal line; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2013 American Chemical Society [ 67 ]); ( k ) aerosol jet printed ZnO based transistor; ( l ) inks used for the aerosol jet printing; ( m – o ) optical microscopic image; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2014 John Wiley and Sons [ 64 ]).

In another study reported by Kihyon Hong et al. [ 64 ], they used aerosol jet printing technology to print the P-type and N-type transistors based on ZnO as the channel material as depicted in Figure 4 k–o. This shows the promising nature of aerosol jet printing technology in semiconductor manufacturing industries. The aerosol jet printing is applicable for micro-scaled devices but not suitable for cutting-edge technology nodes due to the technology scaling limitations.

3.3. Extrusion-Based Printing

The functionality of extrusion or filamentary-based printing is similar to the FDM system which is based on the high-temperature melting of the fuse on controlled motions across the (x, y, z) plane. It is a layer-by-layer extrusion-based printing technology that is used for the accurate fabrication of any 3-dimensional layered structures [ 74 ]. The extrusion-based printed electronics are highly suitable for printing a complex 3D microstructure with superior electrical properties [ 75 , 76 , 77 ]. Figure 5 depicts the graphene-based flexible conducting line deposited on the surface of the glove for sensing strain, pressure, and EMG sensors. 3D-printed Cu-based filament has been extensively used to build printed electrical interconnects, metallization, and circuits [ 78 ]. In addition, the authors also studied the multiple-layered metal interconnects and their electrical performance across three embedded interconnect metal layers. The electrical conductivity of the interconnects is further tested by PIC controller-based printed circuit board to further evidence the capability of digital data transmission across the printed metal lines. A study reported by Leland Weiss and Tyler Sonsalla [ 79 ], focused on the fabrication of perovskite solar cells using an FDM process and the fabricated perovskite solar cells have a cell size of 25 mm with 200 µm as the MAPbI 3 -PCL thickness. Perovskite materials tend to obtain improved conductivity and transparency at elevated temperatures due to increased electron-hole pair generation. Fabrication of perovskite solar cells further realizes the possibility of utilizing commercial applications because of the simple and efficient process technology offered by FDM. Thus, the FDM technology used in the fabrication of solar cells will open new pathways for the rapid fabrication of highly efficient and simple process technology for solar cell manufacturing.

Fused deposition of graphene-based flexible conducting lines on wearable gloves as sensors; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2022 IOP Science [ 49 ]).

3.4. Electrohydrodynamic Printing

Electrohydrodynamic printing is based on the redox reaction of metallic ink and the sample surface under the influence of an electric field [ 80 , 81 , 82 ]. Figure 6 a depicts the in situ deposition of metal Mo acting as the anode which is immersed in the acetonitrile solvent and the metal ions M z+ generated inside the printing nozzle. The generated metal ions are deposited on the substrate as reduced metal ions and the ions transfer is controlled by the DC voltage of 80–150 V to drive the redox printing. Alain Reiser et al. demonstrated the two-channel nozzle composed of Cu and Ag ion species and positive voltage is applied to any one of the wire electrodes then the Cu + or Ag + ions deposited on the surface as shown in Figure 6 b,c. Similarly, when both channels are activated by positive voltage then alloys of Cu–Ag are formed on the surface. Figure 6 d shows the EDX elemental map of the Cu and Ag-based material grown on the substrate which further evidence the controllability of metal deposition on varying the actuating voltage from channel to channel. Figure 6 e shows the array of 50 × 50 nanopillars made of Cu which are spaced 500 nm apart along the x and y axis and this implies the x-y axis motion controllability of the printer in nanometer scale. Figure 6 f depicts the high-resolution Cu metal lines with various line spacing of 1 µm, 500 nm, and 250 nm. The authors showcased the dimensional controllability with high accuracy by electrohydrodynamic printing which is demonstrated by printing the highly dimensionally scalable structures of 85 and 170 nm rod width as shown in Figure 6 g,h. It shows the formation of nanorods, metallic lines, elevated nanorods, and sinusoidal wave-like patterns are demonstrated in Figure 6 i–k.

( a ) Working principle of electrohydrodynamic redox printing with two-channel operating mode: (1) Metal ions generated and immersed in liquid solvent, (2) ionized solvents are ejected as droplets by electrohydrodynamic force, (3) On substrates the metal ions are reduced to form zero valence metal; ( b , c ) optical microscopic image of the two-channel nozzle; ( d ) SEM micrograph and EDX elemental mapping of nanopillar based on Cu and Ag; ( e ) 50 × 50 copper pillars array; ( f ) 250 nm spaced wall printed; ( g ) Cu metal lines of 100 nm; ( h , i ) overhangs pillar having out of plane growth; ( j ) sine wave pattern printed on the surface; and ( k ) cu nanopillar with polycrystalline microstructure; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2019 Springer Nature [ 69 ]).

Jaehyun Bae et al. [ 83 ] investigated the effect of the surface tension of printable ink on the jetting flow of redox printing. The authors used water, EG, DMSO, DMF, acetone, ethanol, and IPA of varying surface tensions from 72.8 (dyne/cm) to 20.9 (dyne/cm) as shown in Figure 7 . The jetting flow for water is semi-circular meniscus due to the higher surface tension for the water of 72.8 dyne/cm. Meniscus dimension changes from semi-circular to conical on decreasing the surface tension as observed for DMSO with 42.9 dyne/cm. The jetting flow with the conical-shaped meniscus when the surface tension is less than 42.9 dyne/cm which is observed for surface tension as low as 20.9 dyne/cm. Henceforth, the meniscus exhibits directional jet flow for DMSO, DMF, acetone, ethanol, and IPA. Similarly, the authors controlled the thickness of the droplet by increasing the applied voltage to 4 kV.

Printable ink with various surface tension effects on electrohydrodynamic printing head jetting formation (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2017 John Wiley and Sons [ 83 ]).

3.5. Light-Based Printing

UV curing has been a popular technique used in additive manufacturing technique for building complex 3D structures. UV curing techniques have received increased interest recently due to their fast curing, high resolution, energy efficiency, less space, and solventless process. UV curing ink works based on the photopolymerization or photocuring process [ 84 , 85 , 86 ]. Photopolymerization is based on the transition of liquid-phase ink to solid-phase under UV or visible light irradiation. In general, oligomers-based inks are used for photopolymerization such as polyurethane, polyether, polyester, and epoxy resin [ 87 ]. Yu Zhang et al. reported one droplet UV-assisted printing by using bottom-up UV-illuminated printing. Figure 8 a depicts the typical experimental setup of the one-droplet UV-illuminated printing using a UV-curable resin droplet. It is developed on three different substrates such as F-quartz, superamphiphobic, and S-PDMS as shown in Figure 8 b–s. The authors have found that one droplet UV illuminated resin grown on F-quartz and superamphiphobic surface has ruptured curing and curing with vertical striped patterns, the UV curing on S-PDMS substrate has better resolution than the other counterpart ( Figure 8 b–s). In another study, Junzhe Zhu et al. reported the NIR laser (980 nm) assisted photo polymerization technology for the development of small feature sizes of 4 mm 3D complex structures as shown in Figure 8 t. The authors showcased the scaling ability of the NIR laser by developing a mesh-like pattern with a line width of ~400 µm as depicted in Figure 8 u,v. Similarly, the honeycomb-like structure is also showcased in 3D-printed monolithic structures at different resolutions as shown in Figure 8 w. Figure 8 x,y shows the freestanding cantilever structure with color different pigments, the proposed structure represents the free-standing “m” with direct ink writing technology.

( a ) Single droplet UV-based printing system; ( b – s ) bottom-up printing approach on F-quartz, superamphiphobic, and S-PDMS substrate; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2020 Springer Nature [ 88 ]); ( t ) NIR based direct ink writing technology; ( u , v ) post-NIR exposure to form mesh-like structure; ( w ) 3D monolithic honeycomb structure side and top view; ( x , y ) freestanding spiral and m shaped cantilever structure with red and blue pigment. reprinted from (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2020 Springer Nature [ 89 ]).

4. Printing Quality

The printing quality of the lines is the crucial factor that determines whether the printing technology is reliable or not [ 90 ]. However, the quality of the printed metal line can be categorized into three classifications such as fine line, uneven edges, and overspray as shown in Figure 9 [ 90 ]. Fine lines are perfectly edged metal lines without any deformations or ruptures on the side wall of the metal lines. On the other hand, uneven edges are exhibiting curvy features with uneven width from one region of the metal line to another. An overspray scenario generally happens when the line width exceeds the desired line width.

Printed patterns quality such as fine lines, uneven edges, and overspray.

5. Coffee Ring Effect

Inkjet and aerosol printers are suffering seriously from the coffee ring effect as the name suggests the nanoparticle printing ink on reaching the surface forms a coffee ring-like circular pattern of nanoparticle ink on the substrate [ 91 , 92 ]. In general, the coffee ring effect is mostly observed when using an inkjet printer and an aerosol jet printer. Rafal Sliz et al. predicted the coffee ring effect by varying the substrate temperature from 25 °C to 250 °C as shown in Figure 10 a–f [ 93 ]. The authors used the PEDOT: PSS as ink materials and their findings suggest that the coffee ring effect is larger when the substrate temperature is at 130 °C. Conversely, the coffee ring effect is suppressed when the substrate temperature is >130 °C which is due to the decrease in heat transfer between the substrate and the droplet. The coffee ring effect reappears when the temperature is greater than the second critical point of 220 °C. The coffee ring effect affects the device performance by a non-uniform coating of materials leading to the poor electrical performance of the devices.

( a – f ) Coffee ring effect associated with the heating temperature on inkjet-printed microdroplets; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2020 American Chemical Society [ 93 ]); ( g ) coffee ring effect mitigation by using the thermal treatment on GO flake size; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2017 John Wiley and Sons [ 94 ]).

As reported by Pei He and Brian Derby, the coffee ring effect mitigation on modulating the drying temperature and mean GO flake size is depicted in Figure 10 g. It shows no coffee ring effect on increasing the drying temperature and mean GO flake size. The coffee ring effect can be considerably reduced by choosing a larger flake or nanoparticle size and also by modulating substrate treatment temperature. Tony M. Yen et al. [ 95 ] reported the coffee ring effect reversal by using CO 2 laser-induced differential evaporation. Moreover, the modulation of surface tension for PEDOT: PSS reduces the coffee ring effect [ 96 ]. Guo Liang Goh et al. [ 66 ] reported the SWCNT-based conducting ink used as the conducting single-wall carbon nanotube line by aerosol jet printing as shown in Figure 11 a. The side view of the coffee ring effect on the patterned line with a thicker side wall and thinner center is observed in Figure 11 b,c. In this study, the patterned lines have an uneven side wall with ruptures and deformations at the edges leading to the formation of unstable lines this is predominantly due to the coffee ring effect as shown in Figure 11 d–h. The sheath flow of the aerosol jet printing determines the resistance of the SWNT. The coffee ring effect width can be controlled by modulating the printing speed, nozzle size, and substrate temperature as shown in Figure 11 i–j.

( a ) Aerosol jet printing process schematic using SWNT; ( b , c ) Side view and top view of coffee ring effect; ( d – h ) SEM top view of stable and unstable line with coffee ring width; ( i ) dependence of sheath flow and the resistance per unit length of the printed line; ( j ) coffee ring width and print speed; ( k ) coffee ring width and nozzle size; ( l ) coffee ring width and substrate temperature; (reprinted with permission, Copyright 2019 American Chemical Society [ 66 ]).

6. Applications of 3D-Printing Technology

3D-printing technology is widely adopted in various industries from construction to prototyping. Similarly, 3D printing is going to achieve momentum in the manufacturing of electronic products for various applications. In addition, conducting ink is gaining rapid momentum around the globe in recent years due to the rise in requirements across various application domains based on flexible and Si-based electronics. The emergence of printable electronics on flexible substrates opens a wide range of applications such as biomedical devices, biosensors, thin film transistors, solar cells, sensors, actuators, photodetectors, energy devices such as supercapacitors, and fuel cells as shown in Figure 12 . Even aerosol jet printing is widely used in solar cell metallization applications [ 97 ]. Moreover, aerosol jet printing is highly suitable for semiconductor packaging, interconnects, and metallization [ 19 , 97 , 98 ]. Thus, by introducing printed metal interconnects and metallization into the commercial fabrication processing, we are reducing the hard-to-recyclable toxic metal and chemical waste which are produced during large-scale lift-off, etching, and metallization process. It also improves efficiency by minimizing the operating cost and chemical costs during the back end of the line process which further decreases the overall production cost of a chip on a larger scale. Printing technology is recently adapted for the fabrication of parasitic electronics and energy storage devices. In a study reported by Sung-Yueh Wu et al., the author demonstrated the 3D-printable passive electronics such as resistors, capacitors, and inductors for wireless integrated sensors [ 99 ]. Similarly, incorporating printing technology into discrete electronic will reduce the barrier between creators and their creations. This will create an open innovation platform for younger innovators to develop next-generation products for various application sectors.

Applications of printed electronics as sensors, biomedical devices, energy devices, and other communication electronics such as antennas.

Printed fuel cells based on protonic ceramics are attracting interest in clean energy and a sustainable future [ 100 , 101 , 102 ]. Furthermore, compact and printable batteries and fuel cells further provide pathways for next-generation innovators to develop cutting-edge applications across various nodes. The technology growth allows the sensor to play a prominent role in the day-to-day activities of human; printed microsensors for sensing temperature [ 103 ], strain [ 104 ], and photonic sensors [ 105 , 106 , 107 ]. For various biomedical applications, printed sensors are highly desirable for simple and rapid manufacturing processes [ 108 , 109 , 110 ].

7. Conclusions

Printed electronics are likely to revolutionize electronic manufacturing and prototyping by acting as a bridge between laboratory-scale innovation and real-time application. AM technology is a highly potential technology for the fabrication of next-generation electronics using low cost and rapid prototyping ability for cross-functionality oriented applications. The printed electronics predominantly relate to those specific requirements of the printing process and can substantially utilize any material, that can be deposited by solution-based, air-based, or other processes which are comprehensively assessed in the manuscript. The key highlights are as follows:

• Systematic assessment in the past 10 years based on emergent printed electronics from the perspective of materials and various processing techniques. In addition, various ink materials with superior electrical and mechanical properties to ensure their pathways in the electronics industry are discussed.
• The prominent role of printing ink and its classification based on the ink materials are also discussed. We conducted a comprehensive review of metal oxide nanoparticle ink, metal nanoparticle ink, 2D material ink, molecular ink, and UV-curable ink. Among them, metal nanoparticle inks are highly desirable for high-conducting metal lines and electrodes. Conversely, metal oxide nanoparticle ink can exhibit conducting and dielectric nature. Molecular and UV-curable ink has a flexible nature which makes it highly suitable for flexible electronics applications.
• A critical assessment on the potential of diverse printing technology and its ability in contributing to the semiconductor industry for sustainable manufacturing are presented. In addition, we discussed the role of printed metal lines and electrodes by inkjet, aerosol, and electrohydrodynamic printing for the state-of the art semiconductor process and interconnects. We discussed the correlation of the surface tension of the printing ink for nanometer-scaled resolution using electrohydrodynamic printing.
• The printing quality of the metal line and their classification such as fine lines, uneven edges, and overflow are also holistically discussed. Also, the prominent role of the coffee ring effect in inkjet and aerosol jet printing technology and also various methods proposed to mitigate the effect are envisaged.
• The present work will be helpful in providing insight into this emerging technology to the spectrum of researchers and industrial professionals. The highly stable and reliable features of printed conductive inks imply a promising future in flexible electronics and their applications. We also discussed the various applications of printed electronics in electronic devices, energy devices, sensors, and biomedical devices which have promising applications.

Finally, we conclude that printed electronics is a highly efficient and sustainable alternative technology for industry 5.0. AM technology which will provide sustainable growth to electronic industries by minimizing global chemical waste across electronic manufacturing sectors. In the future, the printable electronic will be revolutionizing the world by providing freedom to innovate even for mass production for an open innovator ecosystem.

Acknowledgments

The authors would like to acknowledge the Chennai Institute of Technology, Susso Foundation Cares, Chennai, and Indian Institute of Technology Jammu for providing the necessary resources for this publication.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript

Funding Statement

This research received no external funding.

Author Contributions

Writing and preparation of the original draft, S.C.; review, supervision, and editing, S.C. and A.J.; resources and methodology, S.C., A.J. and R.V. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

FREE IEEE PAPER ECE-ELECTRONICS COMMUNICATION ENGINEERING

Electronics-ece ieee paper 2022, recent ieee papers, ieee projects 2022, seminar reports, free ieee projects ieee papers, additional ece papers.

• Today’s Paper
• Bihar Class 12 results
• Premium Stories
• Express Shorts
• Health & Wellness
• Board Exam Results

GATE 2024 Result: IISc Bangalore releases paper-wise cut-off for all categories

The gate cut-off 2024 for the humanities and social sciences (psychology) is the maximum with 52.7 for the general category candidates and it is the lowest in papers including in mining, biomedical, chemical, electronics and communication engineering papers and mathematics with only 25..

GATE Cut-Off 2024: The Indian Institute of Science Bangalore (IISc Bangalore) today released the GATE cut-off marks for various programmes under several categories. The GATE cut-off 2024 for the Humanities and Social Sciences (Psychology) is the maximum with 52.7 for the general category candidates and the GATE 2024 cut off is lowest in papers including in Biomedical Engineering, Chemical Engineering , Electronics and Communication Engineering, Mathematics and Mining Engineering with 25.

GATE 2024 | AIR 1 Raja Majhi | Previous cut-offs | Using GATE score for financial assistance |  Institutes accepting GATE score | How much GATE toppers scored last year | How to check | List of other PSUs accepting scores | Total qualified students | How to download scorecards

The GATE cut-offs is depended on multiple factors. The number of total candidates appearing GATE exam paper, availability of seats at the participating institutions and the difficulty level of the exam also play a crucial role in deciding the cut-off.

GATE 2024 Cut-Off

The IISc Bangalore which held the Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering (GATE 2024) between February 3 and 11 announced the result on March 16. The GATE 2024 scorecards of the individual candidates will be released today.

• Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
• IISc Bangalore

KKR and SRH, under new captains Shreyas Iyer and Pat Cummins, will face off in the opening match of IPL 2021 at Eden Gardens. Iyer returns as KKR skipper after missing last season due to injury, while Cummins leads SRH after a successful stint as Australia's Test captain. KKR's mentor Gautam Gambhir, who led the team to two IPL titles, is back. The pressure is on KKR's record signing Starc

• T20 World Cup 2024 Live Updates: Rishabh Pant, back playing after 454 days, ranks 23rd on our India T20 WC Squad Ladder 11 mins ago
• Moscow Concert Hall Attack Live Updates: Putin links attackers to Ukraine as death toll rises to 143 6 hours ago
• Arvind Kejriwal Arrest Live Updates: Delhi CM moves High Court, seeks urgent hearing on 'illegal' ED arrest 7 hours ago
• JEE Main 2024 Session 2 Live Updates: When is NTA releasing JEE city intimation slip at jeemain.nta.ac.in 9 hours ago

Best of Express

Buzzing Now

Mar 23: Latest News

• 01 Kate Middleton, Princess of Wales, reveals she has cancer and is undergoing chemotherapy
• 02 Russia says 60 dead, 145 injured in concert hall raid; Islamic State group claims responsibility
• 03 KKR vs SRH Live Streaming, IPL 2024: When and where to watch Kolkata vs Hyderabad live?
• 04 Don’t mess with England flag, says PM Sunak as soccer kit gets update
• 05 65 migrants’ bodies found in Libya mass grave, says IOM
• Elections 2024
• Political Pulse
• Entertainment
• Movie Review
• Newsletters
• Web Stories

• Conference proceedings
• © 2022

Innovations in Electronics and Communication Engineering

Proceedings of the 9th ICIECE 2021

• H. S. Saini 0 ,
• R. K. Singh 1 ,
• Mirza Tariq Beg 2 ,
• Ravibabu Mulaveesala 3 ,
• Md Rashid Mahmood 4

Managing Director, Guru Nanak Institutions, Ibrahimpatnam, India

You can also search for this editor in PubMed   Google Scholar

Professor and Associate Director, Guru Nanak Institutions Technical Campus, Ibrahimpatnam, India

Department of electronics and communication engineering, jamia millia islamia, new delhi, india, department of electrical engineering, indian institute of technology ropar, rupnagar, india, department of electronics and communication engineering, guru nanak institutions technical campus, ibrahimpatnam, india.

• Provides the latest developments in the field of electronics and communication engineering
• Presents high quality papers presented at ICIECE 2021
• Serves as a reference resource for students, researchers and academicians

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems (LNNS, volume 355)

29k Accesses

47 Citations

• Table of contents

About this book

Editors and affiliations, about the editors, bibliographic information.

• Publish with us

Buying options

• Available as EPUB and PDF
• Read on any device
• Instant download
• Own it forever
• Compact, lightweight edition
• Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
• Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Other ways to access

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check for access.

Table of contents (64 papers)

Front matter, communications, an efficient cooperative communication technique for multiuser wireless network.

• Satish Kumar Gannamaneni, Jibendu Sekhar Roy

Performance of MQC Code-Based SAC-OCDMA in FSO System

• Nabamita Das, Md. Jahedul Islam

Resource Management in 5G

• Komal Raghavendra Kulkarni, Mayuri Manage, M. R. Kiran, R. M. Banakar

PAPR Reduction for FBMC-OQAM Signals Using PSO-Based JPTS Scheme

• D. Rajendra Prasad, S. Tamil, Bharti Chourasia

Intrusion Detection System (IDS) for Security Enhancement in Wireless Sensing Applications

• Bharat Bhushan

Design and Analysis of Wideband Circularly Polarized Modified Cylindrical Dielectric Resonator Antenna Array

• P. Kondalamma, R. Sindhura, L. Naga jyothsna, K. Tarun, M. VamsiKrishna, Ch. Raghavendra

Design and Performance Analysis of Tri-band Monopole Planar Antenna for Wireless Communications

• T. Ravi Kumar Naidu, M. Susila

Performance of Circular Patch Antenna Without and with Varying Superstrates Height

A metasurface-based patch antenna with enhanced gain and frequency for x-band applications.

• Nitish Kumar Pagadala, Anudeep Allamsetty, Suman Bulla, Vineetha Mukthineni, K. Sneha

Design and Simulation of Slot Antenna for Energy Harvesting

• Ashima Sharma, Shrishti Singh, Paurush Dhawan, Dinesh Sharma

Design of Planar Slot Antenna Based on SIW Technology for Wireless LAN Applications

• Lokeshwar Bollavathi, Ravindranadh Jammalamadugu, Murali Krishna Atmakuri
• Embedded Systems

A Novel Approach for the Measurement of pH of Body Fluids at Various Temperatures Using Compensation Technique

• M. Sameera Fathimal, S. Jothiraj

Design of Low-Cost Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) Circuit Using Ki-CAD

• Mehaboob Mujawar, D. Vijaya Saradhi

An Approach for Designing of Low-Noise Bandgap Reference Circuit

• Anushree, Jasdeep Kaur

Robotic Interactive Companion: Human–Robot Interaction for Wellness

• Alan Jacob, Manju Singh, Agha Asim Husain

Design and Fabrication of Automatic Oxygen Flow Controller for COVID Patient

• S. J. Sugumar, Divya Sugathan, Bhagyalaxmi S. Patil, S. Chandana, S. Harsha, V. Karthik Kumar

Analysis and Testing of Geophone for Different Soil Conditions for Elephant Intrusion Detection

• S. J. Sugumar, D. Jeevalakshmi, S. Shreyas, R. Vishnu, M. S. Suryakotikiran, B. Kushalappa

This book covers various streams of communication engineering like signal processing, VLSI design, embedded systems, wireless communications and electronics and communications in general. The book is a collection of best selected research papers presented at 9th International Conference on Innovations in Electronics and Communication Engineering at Guru Nanak Institutions Hyderabad, India. The book presents works from researchers, technocrats and experts about latest technologies in electronic and communication engineering. The authors have discussed the latest cutting edge technology, and the book will serve as a reference for young researchers.

• VLSI Design
• Wireless Communications
• Signal Processing
• Artificial Intelligence
• Machine Learning and RADAR
• Emerging Technologies

H. S. Saini

R. K. Singh

Mirza Tariq Beg

Ravibabu Mulaveesala

Md Rashid Mahmood

Dr. H. S. Saini is Managing Director for Guru Nanak Institutions with Ph.D. in the field of Computer Science. He has over 24 years of experience at University/College level in teaching UG/PG students and has guided several B. Tech., M. Tech. and Ph.D. projects. He has published/presented more than 30 high quality research papers in International, National Journals and proceedings of International Conferences. He is Editor for Journal of Innovations in Electronics and Communication Engineering (JIECE) published by Guru Nanak Publishers. He has two books to his credit. Dr. Saini is Lover of innovation and is Advisor for NBA/NAAC accreditation process to many Institutions in India and abroad. Dr. H. S. Saini is also Chief Editor of JIECE, JICSE and many others reputed international journals.

Mirza Tariq Beg is Professor, Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi.  He received Ph.D. degree from Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi in the year 2003, M.Tech. from Delhi University Delhi in the year 1987 and B.Tech from Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh in 1985. He started his career as Assistant Professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering from Jamia Millia Islamia New Delhi in 1987. Now, he is working as Professor since 2003 in the same organization. He was also Director of Centre for Distance & Open Learning (CDOL), Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. His research area includes Microwave and Communication Engineering. He has guided several Ph.D. students and authored and co-authored more than 50 research papers in peer-reviewed, international journals.

Dr. Ravibabu Mulaveesala received M.Tech. from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirapalli, in 2000 and Ph.D. from Centre for Applied Research in Electronics, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), India, in 2007. He started his carrier as Assistant Professor, IIITDM Jabalpur.  Currently, he is working as Associate Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar. His research interests include thermal, acoustical and optical methods for non-invasive/non-destructive imaging technologies. He has more than 100 research papers, two books, three book chapters and three patents in his account.  He serves as Editorial or Advisory Boards of the several refereed journals of Institute of Physics, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), Elsevier, etc., and also to several peer-reviewed conferences. He has completed four sponsored research grants under Sponsoring Agency of Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB), Ministry of Defense (AR&DB), Science & Engineering Research Board (SERB) and Global Innovation & Technology Alliance, respectively, in the capacity of Principal Investigator/Co-Principal Investigator/partner. He is Editor/Associate Editor of more than ten international journals. He has given several invited talks in various workshop, conferences in India as well as abroad.

Dr. Md Rashid Mahmood received his Ph.D. degree from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi, M.Tech. from Maharishi Dayanand University, Rohtak, Hariyana, and B.E. from Jamia Millia Islamia, New Delhi. He started his carrier as Lecturer and currently working as Professor in the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, Guru NanakInstitutions Technical Campus, Hyderabad.  Dr. Rashid Mahmood has more than sixteen year of teaching experience in reputed Engineering Colleges in India. He is Keen Researcher, and he has authored and co-authored more than 50 research papers in international/national journals and proceedings of symposia. He has eight patents in his account (published in India as well as abroad), and two patents have been granted. His areas of interest include image and video processing, wireless sensors networks (WSNs), propagation and scattering of transmission lines, design and application of microwave filters and antennas. He is Editor and Reviewer of several internationally refereed journals.

Book Title : Innovations in Electronics and Communication Engineering

Book Subtitle : Proceedings of the 9th ICIECE 2021

Editors : H. S. Saini, R. K. Singh, Mirza Tariq Beg, Ravibabu Mulaveesala, Md Rashid Mahmood

Series Title : Lecture Notes in Networks and Systems

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-8512-5

Publisher : Springer Singapore

eBook Packages : Engineering , Engineering (R0)

Copyright Information : The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2022

Softcover ISBN : 978-981-16-8511-8 Published: 13 March 2022

eBook ISBN : 978-981-16-8512-5 Published: 12 March 2022

Series ISSN : 2367-3370

Series E-ISSN : 2367-3389

Edition Number : 1

Number of Pages : XXXVII, 615

Number of Illustrations : 90 b/w illustrations, 277 illustrations in colour

Topics : Communications Engineering, Networks , Control, Robotics, Mechatronics , Electronics and Microelectronics, Instrumentation , Artificial Intelligence

Policies and ethics

• Find a journal
• Track your research

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

• View all journals
• Explore content
• About the journal
• Publish with us
• Sign up for alerts
• Perspective
• Published: 22 March 2024

Recommendations for the responsible use and communication of race and ethnicity in neuroimaging research

• Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-6736-3020 1 &
• Marybel Robledo Gonzalez 2  

Nature Neuroscience ( 2024 ) Cite this article

Metrics details

• Cognitive neuroscience
• Research data

The growing availability of large-population human biomedical datasets provides researchers with unique opportunities to conduct rigorous and impactful studies on brain and behavioral development, allowing for a more comprehensive understanding of neurodevelopment in diverse populations. However, the patterns observed in these datasets are more likely to be influenced by upstream structural inequities (that is, structural racism), which can lead to health disparities based on race, ethnicity and social class. This paper addresses the need for guidance and self-reflection in biomedical research on conceptualizing, contextualizing and communicating issues related to race and ethnicity. We provide recommendations as a starting point for researchers to rethink race and ethnicity choices in study design, model specification, statistical analysis and communication of results, implement practices to avoid the further stigmatization of historically minoritized groups, and engage in research practices that counteract existing harmful biases.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Access Nature and 54 other Nature Portfolio journals

Get Nature+, our best-value online-access subscription

24,99 € / 30 days

cancel any time

Subscribe to this journal

Receive 12 print issues and online access

195,33 € per year

only 16,28 € per issue

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

Confronting racially exclusionary practices in the acquisition and analyses of neuroimaging data

J. A. Ricard, T. C. Parker, … A. J. Holmes

Five recommendations for using large-scale publicly available data to advance health among American Indian peoples: the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) StudySM as an illustrative case

Evan J. White, Mara J. Demuth, … Robin Aupperle

A systematic review of neuroimaging epigenetic research: calling for an increased focus on development

Esther Walton, Vilte Baltramonaityte, … Charlotte A. M. Cecil

Laird, A. R. Large, open datasets for human connectomics research: considerations for reproducible and responsible data use. NeuroImage 244 , 118579 (2021).

Article   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Bailey, Z. D. et al. Structural racism and health inequities in the USA: evidence and interventions. Lancet 389 , 1453–1463 (2017).

Graves, J. L. Jr & Goodman, A. H. Racism, Not Race: Answers to Frequently Asked Questions (Columbia Univ. Press, 2021).

Müller, R. et al. Next steps for global collaboration to minimize racial and ethnic bias in neuroscience. Nat. Neurosci . https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01369-6 (2023).

Nature. Why Nature is updating its advice to authors on reporting race or ethnicity. Nature 616 , 219–219 (2023).

Abiodun, S. J. ‘Seeing color,’ a discussion of the implications and applications of race in the field of neuroscience. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 13 , 280 (2019).

Article   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Girolamo, T., Parker, T. C. & Eigsti, I. -M. Incorporating dis/ability studies and critical race theory to combat systematic exclusion of black, indigenous, and people of color in clinical neuroscience. Front. Neurosci. 16 , 988092 (2022).

Green, K. H. et al. A perspective on enhancing representative samples in developmental human neuroscience: connecting science to society. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 16 , 981657 (2022).

Rebello, V. & Uban, K. A. A call to leverage a health equity lens to accelerate human neuroscience research. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 17 , 1035597 (2023).

Ricard, J. A. et al. Confronting racially exclusionary practices in the acquisition and analyses of neuroimaging data. Nat. Neurosci. 26 , 4–11 (2023).

Article   CAS   PubMed   Google Scholar  

Rollins, O. Towards an antiracist (neuro)science. Nat. Hum. Behav. 5 , 540–541 (2021).

Webb, E. K., Cardenas-Iniguez, C. & Douglas, R. Radically reframing studies on neurobiology and socioeconomic circumstances: a call for social justice-oriented neuroscience. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 16 , 958545 (2022).

Okun, T. White Supremacy Culture—Still Here https://www.dismantlingracism.org/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture.pdf (2021).

Valles, S. Philosophy of Population Health: Philosophy for a New Public Health Era (Routledge, 2018).

Morning, A. Ethnic classification in global perspective: a cross-national survey of the 2000 Census round. Popul. Res. Policy Rev. 27 , 239–272 (2008).

Article   Google Scholar  

Roberts, D. Fatal Invention: How Science, Politics, and Big Business Re-Create Race in the Twenty-First Century (New Press/ORIM, 2011). This book provides a rich account of how racial categories have been created and maintained in the United States, and how they have been used in biomedical research .

Pitts-Taylor, V. Neurobiologically poor? Brain phenotypes, inequality, and biosocial determinism. Sci. Technol. Hum. Values 44 , 660–685 (2019).

Rogers, L. O., Niwa, E. Y., Chung, K., Yip, T. & Chae, D. M(ai)cro: centering the macrosystem in human development. Hum. Dev. 65 , 270–292 (2021).

Dennis, A. C., Chung, E. O., Lodge, E. K., Martinez, R. A. & Wilbur, R. E. Looking back to leap forward: a framework for operationalizing the structural racism construct in minority and immigrant health research. Ethn. Dis. 31 , 301–310 (2021).

Goldfarb, M. G. & Brown, D. R. Diversifying participation: the rarity of reporting racial demographics in neuroimaging research. NeuroImage 254 , 119122 (2022).

Sterling, E., Pearl, H., Liu, Z., Allen, J. W. & Fleischer, C. C. Demographic reporting across a decade of neuroimaging: a systematic review. Brain Imaging Behav. 16 , 2785–2796 (2022).

Taylor, L. & Rommelfanger, K. S. Mitigating white Western individualistic bias and creating more inclusive neuroscience. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 23 , 389–390 (2022).

Atkin, A. L. et al. Race terminology in the field of psychology: acknowledging the growing multiracial population in the US. Am. Psychol. 77 , 381–393 (2022).

Balestra, C. & Fleischer, L. Diversity statistics in the OECD: how do OECD countries collect data on ethnic, racial and indigenous identity? OECD https://doi.org/10.1787/89bae654-en (2018).

American Psychological Association. APA Guidelines on Race and Ethnicity in Psychology: Promoting Responsiveness and Equity https://www.apa.org/about/policy/guidelines-race-ethnicity.pdf (2019).

Flanagin, A., Frey, T. & Christiansen, S. L., AMA Manual of Style Committee. Updated guidance on the reporting of race and ethnicity in medical and science journals. JAMA 326 , 621–627 (2021).

Duggan, C. P., Kurpad, A., Stanford, F. C., Sunguya, B. & Wells, J. C. Race, ethnicity, and racism in the nutrition literature: an update for 2020. Am. J. Clin. Nutr. 112 , 1409–1414 (2020).

Krieger, N. Structural racism, health inequities, and the two-edged sword of data: structural problems require structural solutions. Front. Public Health 9 , 655447 (2021).

Saini, A. Superior: the Return of Race Science (Press, 2019).

Zuberi, T. & Bonilla-Silva, E. White Logic, White Methods: Racism and Methodology (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008).

Fan, C. C. et al. Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) study Linked External Data (LED): Protocol and practices for geocoding and assignment of environmental data. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 52 , 101030 (2021).

Cardenas-Iniguez, C. et al. Building towards an adolescent neural urbanome: expanding environmental measures using linked external data (LED) in the ABCD Study. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci . https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101338 (2024). This article provides a comprehensive review of many variables that can be used to directly measure social and physical environments, instead of using race and ethnicity as proxies .

Gonzalez, M. R. et al. Positive economic, psychosocial, and physiological ecologies predict brain structure and cognitive performance in 9-10-year-old children. Front. Hum. Neurosci. 14 , 578822 (2020).

Gonzalez, R. et al. An update on the assessment of culture and environment in the ABCD Study: emerging literature and protocol updates over three measurement waves. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 52 , 101021 (2021).

Hoffman, E. A. et al. Stress exposures, neurodevelopment and health measures in the ABCD study. Neurobiol. Stress 10 , 100157 (2019).

Meredith, W. J., Cardenas-Iniguez, C., Berman, M. G. & Rosenberg, M. D. Effects of the physical and social environment on youth cognitive performance. Dev. Psychobiol. 64 , e22258 (2022).

Zucker, R. A. et al. Assessment of culture and environment in the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development Study: rationale, description of measures, and early data. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 32 , 107–120 (2018).

Benmarhnia, T., Hajat, A. & Kaufman, J. S. Inferential challenges when assessing racial/ethnic health disparities in environmental research. Environ. Health 20 , 7 (2021).

Johfre, S. S. & Freese, J. Reconsidering the reference category. Sociol. Methodol. 51 , 253–269 (2021).

Roberts, D. E. & Rollins, O. Why sociology matters to race and biosocial science. Annu. Rev. Socio. 46 , 195–214 (2020).

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Using Population Descriptors in Genetics and Genomics Research: a New Framework for an Evolving Field https://doi.org/10.17226/26902 (National Academies Press, 2023). This report summarizes important issues relevant to genetics research and provides concrete recommendations for researchers, including flowcharts, checklists and additional tools for implementation .

Cosgrove, K. T. et al. Limits to the generalizability of resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging studies of youth: an examination of ABCD Study baseline data. Brain Imaging Behav . https://doi.org/10.1007/s11682-022-00665-2 (2022).

White, E. J. et al. Five recommendations for using large-scale publicly available data to advance health among American Indian peoples: the Adolescent Brain and Cognitive Development (ABCD) StudySM as an illustrative case. Neuropsychopharmacology 48 , 263–269 (2023).

Gard, A. M., Hyde, L. W., Heeringa, S. G., West, B. T. & Mitchell, C. Why weight? Analytic approaches for large-scale population neuroscience data. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 59 , 101196 (2023).

Lett, E. et al. Health equity tourism: ravaging the justice landscape. J. Med. Syst. 46 , 17 (2022).

Krieger, N., Boyd, R. W., Maio, F. D. & Maybank, A. Medicine’s privileged gatekeepers: producing harmful ignorance about racism and health. Health Affairs Forefront https://www.healthaffairs.org/do/10.1377/forefront.20210415.305480 (2021).

Braveman, P. Health disparities and health equity: concepts and measurement. Annu. Rev. Public Health 27 , 167–194 (2006).

Braveman, P., Arkin, E., Orleans, T., Proctor, D. & Plough, A. What is health equity? And what difference does a definition make? The Equity Initiative https://resources.equityinitiative.org/handle/ei/418 (2017).

Ford, C. L. & Airhihenbuwa, C. O. Critical race theory, race equity, and public health: toward antiracism praxis. Am. J. Public Health 100 , S30–S35 (2010). This article provides a framework for applying concepts of CRT to empirical studies in public health, and other fields focusing on human research .

Ford, C. L. & Airhihenbuwa, C. O. The public health critical race methodology: praxis for antiracism research. Soc. Sci. Med. 71 , 1390–1398 (2010).

Ford, C. L. & Airhihenbuwa, C. O. Commentary: just what is critical race theory and what’s it doing in a progressive field like public health? Ethn. Dis. 28 , 223–230 (2018).

Katikireddi, S. V. & Valles, S. A. Coupled ethical–epistemic analysis of public health research and practice: categorizing variables to improve population health and equity. Am. J. Public Health 105 , e36–e42 (2015).

Tuana, N. in Scientific Integrity and Ethics in the Geosciences (ed. Gunderson, L. C.) 155–173 (American Geophysical Union, 2017).

Valles, S. A., Piso, Z. & O’Rourke, M. Coupled ethical-epistemic analysis as a tool for environmental science. Ethics Policy Environ. 22 , 267–286 (2019).

Causadias, J. M., Vitriol, J. A. & Atkin, A. L. Do we overemphasize the role of culture in the behavior of racial/ethnic minorities? Evidence of a cultural (mis)attribution bias in American psychology. Am. Psychol. 73 , 243–255 (2018).

Szanton, S. L., LaFave, S. E. & Thorpe, R. J. Jr. Structural racial discrimination and structural resilience: measurement precedes change. J. Gerontol. Ser. A 77 , 402–404 (2022).

La Scala, S., Mullins, J. L., Firat, R. B.; Emotional Learning Research Community Advisory Board & Michalska, K. J. Equity, diversity, and inclusion in developmental neuroscience: practical lessons from community-based participatory research. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 16, 1007249 (2023).

Randolph, A. C. et al. Creating a sustainable action-oriented engagement infrastructure—a UMN-MIDB perspective. Front. Integr. Neurosci. 16 , 1060896 (2022).

Shalowitz, M. U. et al. Community-based participatory research: a review of the literature with strategies for community engagement. J. Dev. Behav. Pediatr. 30 , 350–361 (2009).

Buchanan, N. T. & Wiklund, L. O. Why clinical science must change or die: integrating intersectionality and social justice. Women Ther. 43 , 309–329 (2020).

Settles, I. H., Warner, L. R., Buchanan, N. T. & Jones, M. K. Understanding psychology’s resistance to intersectionality theory using a framework of epistemic exclusion and invisibility. J. Soc. Issues 76 , 796–813 (2020).

Bodison, S. C., Nagel, B., Lopez, D. A., Huber, R. & Members of ABCD JEDI WG3. Equity-focused questions for researchers using the ABCD Study. OSF Home https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/PM7SY (2023).

Carrero Pinedo, A., Caso, T. J., Rivera, R. M., Carballea, D. & Louis, E. F. Black, indigenous, and trainees of color stress and resilience: the role of training and education in decolonizing psychology. Psychol. Trauma Theory Res. Pract. Policy 14 , S140–S147 (2022).

Rodriguez-Seijas, C. A. et al. The next generation of clinical psychological science: moving toward antiracism. Clin. Psychol. Sci. https://doi.org/10.1177/21677026231156545 (2023).

Buchanan, N. T., Perez, M., Prinstein, M. J. & Thurston, I. B. Upending racism in psychological science: strategies to change how science is conducted, reported, reviewed, and disseminated. Am. Psychol. 76 , 1097–1112 (2021).

Garcini, L. M. et al. Increasing diversity in developmental cognitive neuroscience: a roadmap for increasing representation in pediatric neuroimaging research. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 58 , 101167 (2022).

Roberts, S. O., Bareket-Shavit, C., Dollins, F. A., Goldie, P. D. & Mortenson, E. Racial inequality in psychological research: trends of the past and recommendations for the future. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 15 , 1295–1309 (2020).

Bryant, B. E., Jordan, A. & Clark, U. S. Race as a social construct in psychiatry research and practice. JAMA Psychiatry 79 , 93–94 (2022).

Roth, W. D. The multiple dimensions of race. Ethn. Racial Stud. 39 , 1310–1338 (2016).

Ford, C. L. & Harawa, N. T. A new conceptualization of ethnicity for social epidemiologic and health equity research. Soc. Sci. Med. 71 , 251–258 (2010).

Delgado, R. & Stefancic, J. Critical Race Theory: an Introduction (NYU Press, 2012).

Ray, V. On Critical Race Theory: Why it Matters & Why You Should Care (Random House, 2023).

Kaplan, J. B. & Bennett, T. Use of race and ethnicity in biomedical publication. JAMA 289 , 2709–2716 (2003).

Mir, G. et al. Principles for research on ethnicity and health: the Leeds Consensus Statement. Eur. J. Public Health 23 , 504–510 (2013). This paper outlines the process through which the Leeds Consensus Statement, an international set of recommendations for ethnicity in research, was developed .

Bowleg, L. ‘The master’s tools will never dismantle the master’s house’: ten critical lessons for black and other health equity researchers of color. Health Educ. Behav. 48 , 237–249 (2021).

Hardeman, R. R., Homan, P. A., Chantarat, T., Davis, B. A. & Brown, T. H. Improving the measurement of structural racism to achieve antiracist health policy. Health Aff. 41 , 179–186 (2022).

Lett, E., Asabor, E., Beltrán, S., Cannon, A. M. & Arah, O. A. Conceptualizing, contextualizing, and operationalizing race in quantitative health sciences research. Ann. Fam. Med. 20 , 157–163 (2022).

López, N., Erwin, C., Binder, M. & Chavez, M. J. Making the invisible visible: advancing quantitative methods in higher education using critical race theory and intersectionality. Race Ethn. Educ. 21 , 180–207 (2018).

Nketia, J., Amso, D. & Brito, N. H. Towards a more inclusive and equitable developmental cognitive neuroscience. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 52 , 101014 (2021).

Gillborn, D., Warmington, P. & Demack, S. QuantCrit: education, policy, ‘big data’ and principles for a critical race theory of statistics. Race Ethn. Educ. 21 , 158–179 (2018).

Crossing, A. E., Gumudavelly, D., Watkins, N., Logue, C. & Anderson, R. E. A critical race theory of psychology as praxis: proposing and utilizing principles of PsyCrit. J. Adolesc. Res . https://doi.org/10.1177/07435584221101930 (2022).

Martín-Baró, I. Writings for a Liberation Psychology (Harvard Univ. Press, 1994).

Omi, M. & Winant, H. Racial Formation in the United States: From the 1960s to the 1980s (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1986).

Feagin, J. R. & Ducey, K. Racist America: Roots, Current Realities, and Future Reparations (Routledge, 2018).

Williams, D. R. & Sternthal, M. Understanding racial-ethnic disparities in health: sociological contributions. J. Health Soc. Behav. 51 , S15–S27 (2010).

Haeny, A. M., Holmes, S. C. & Williams, M. T. The need for shared nomenclature on racism and related terminology in psychology. Perspect. Psychol. Sci. 16 , 886–892 (2021).

Bonilla-Silva, E. Rethinking racism: toward a structural interpretation. Am. Sociol. Rev. 62 , 465–480 (1997).

Chen, J. & Courtwright, A. in Encyclopedia of Global Bioethics (ed. ten Have, H.) 2706–2712 (Springer International Publishing, Cham, 2016).

Garavan, H. et al. Recruiting the ABCD sample: design considerations and procedures. Dev. Cogn. Neurosci. 32 , 16–22 (2018).

Article   CAS   PubMed   PubMed Central   Google Scholar  

Jernigan, T. L., Brown, S. A. & Dowling, G. J. The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. J. Res. Adolesc. 28 , 154–156 (2018).

Compton, W. M., Dowling, G. J. & Garavan, H. Ensuring the best use of data: the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. JAMA Pediatr. 173 , 809–810 (2019).

Dick, A. S. et al. Meaningful associations in the adolescent brain cognitive development study. NeuroImage 239 , 118262 (2021).

Hoffman, E. A., LeBlanc, K., Weiss, S. R. B. & Dowling, G. J. Transforming the future of adolescent health: opportunities from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. J. Adolesc. Health 70 , 186–188 (2022).

Simmons, C. et al. Responsible use of open-access developmental data: The Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study. Psychol. Sci . https://doi.org/10.1177/09567976211003564 (2021).

Telles, E. Latinos, race, and the U.S. census. Ann. Am. Acad. Pol. Soc. Sci. 677 , 153–164 (2018).

Garcia, N. M., López, N. & Vélez, V. N. QuantCrit: rectifying quantitative methods through critical race theory. Race Ethn. Educ. 21 , 149–157 (2018).

Tabron, L. A. & Thomas, A. K. Deeper than wordplay: a systematic review of critical quantitative approaches in education research (2007–2021). Rev. Educ. Res . https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543221130017 (2023).

Suzuki, S., Morris, S. L. & Johnson, S. K. Using QuantCrit to advance an anti-racist developmental science: applications to mixture modeling. J. Adolesc. Res. 36 , 535–560 (2021). This article provides a review of the QuantCrit literature and provides recommendations that researchers can use when conducting antiracism-focused quantitative research .

Castillo, W. & Gillborn, D. How to ‘QuantCrit:’ practices and questions for education data researchers and users. EdWorkingPapers https://www.edworkingpapers.com/ai22-546 (2022).

Roberts, S. O. & Mortenson, E. Challenging the white = neutral framework in psychology. Perspect. Psychol. Sci . https://doi.org/10.1177/17456916221077117 (2022).

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank the large number of people who provided feedback, comments and critiques over the development of this paper. In particular, we thank the members of the ABCD Study JEDI Working Groups, who provided many of the initial discussions that led to the development of this paper. We particularly acknowledge the following people for providing numerous comments on drafts of this manuscript: M. Herting, K. Bagot, L. Uddin, S. Bodison, R. Huber, D. Lopez, E. Hoffman, S. Adise, A. Potter and K. Uban. C.C.-I. acknowledges fellow NSP (R25NS089462), BRAINS (R25NS094094) and Diversifying CNS (R25NS117356) scholars, who have provided invaluable support and inspiration for addressing structural barriers in neuroscience for BIPOC scholars, as well as T32ES013678, R25DA059073, and R25MH125545. C.C.-I. is supported by National Institute of Environmental Health Science grants T32ES013678, R01ES031074 and P30ES007048, and National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities grant P50MD015705. M.R.G. is supported by National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism grant K01AA030325 and National Institute on Drug Abuse grants R61DA058976, R25DA050724, and R25DA050687.

Author information

Authors and affiliations.

Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA

Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez

Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

Marybel Robledo Gonzalez

You can also search for this author in PubMed   Google Scholar

Contributions

C.C.-I. wrote the first draft of the manuscript. M.R.G. wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to the revision of the paper and approved the submitted version.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Carlos Cardenas-Iniguez .

Ethics declarations

Competing interests.

The authors declare no competing interests.

Peer review

Peer review information.

Nature Neuroscience thanks Elvisha Dhamala and Bradley Voytek for their contribution to the peer review of this work.

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article.

Cardenas-Iniguez, C., Gonzalez, M.R. Recommendations for the responsible use and communication of race and ethnicity in neuroimaging research. Nat Neurosci (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01608-4

Download citation

Received : 05 July 2023

Accepted : 16 February 2024

Published : 22 March 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-024-01608-4

Share this article

Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content:

Sorry, a shareable link is not currently available for this article.

Provided by the Springer Nature SharedIt content-sharing initiative

Quick links

• Explore articles by subject
• Guide to authors
• Editorial policies

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Advertisement

Supported by

Why Elon Musk’s OpenAI Lawsuit Leans on A.I. Research From Microsoft

In his lawsuit against OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, Mr. Musk relies on a provocative paper from the start-up’s closest partner.

• Share full article

By Karen Weise and Cade Metz

Karen Weise reported from Seattle, and Cade Metz from San Francisco.

When Elon Musk sued OpenAI and its chief executive, Sam Altman, for breach of contract on Thursday, he turned claims by the start-up’s closest partner, Microsoft, into a weapon.

He repeatedly cited a contentious but highly influential paper written by researchers and top executives at Microsoft about the power of GPT-4, the breakthrough artificial intelligence system OpenAI released last March .

In the “Sparks of A.G.I.” paper, Microsoft’s research lab said that — though it didn’t understand how — GPT-4 had shown “sparks” of “artificial general intelligence,” or A.G.I., a machine that can do everything the human brain can do.

It was a bold claim , and came as the biggest tech companies in the world were racing to introduce A.I. into their own products.

Mr. Musk is turning the paper against OpenAI, saying it showed how OpenAI backtracked on its commitments not to commercialize truly powerful products.

Microsoft and OpenAI declined to comment on the suit. (The New York Times has sued both companies, alleging copyright infringement in the training of GPT-4.) Mr. Musk did not respond to a request for comment.

Draw a unicorn in TiKZ

How did the research paper come to be?

A team of Microsoft researchers, led by Sébastien Bubeck, a 38-year-old French expatriate and former Princeton professor, started testing an early version of GPT-4 in the fall of 2022, months before the technology was released to the public. Microsoft has committed $13 billion to OpenAI and has negotiated exclusive access to the underlying technologies that power its A.I. systems.

As they chatted with the system, they were amazed. It wrote a complex mathematical proof in the form of a poem, generated computer code that could draw a unicorn and explained the best way to stack a random and eclectic collection of household items. Dr. Bubeck and his fellow researchers began to wonder if they were witnessing a new form of intelligence.

“I started off being very skeptical — and that evolved into a sense of frustration, annoyance, maybe even fear,” said Peter Lee, Microsoft’s head of research. “You think: Where the heck is this coming from?”

What role does the paper play in Mr. Musk’s suit?

Mr. Musk argued that OpenAI had breached its contract because it had agreed to not commercialize any product that its board had considered A.G.I.

“GPT-4 is an A.G.I. algorithm,” Mr. Musk’s lawyers wrote. They said that meant the system never should have been licensed to Microsoft.

Mr. Musk’s complaint repeatedly cited the Sparks paper to argue that GPT-4 was A.G.I. His lawyers said, “Microsoft’s own scientists acknowledge that GPT-4 ‘attains a form of general intelligence,’” and given “the breadth and depth of GPT-4’s capabilities, we believe that it could reasonably be viewed as an early (yet still incomplete) version of an artificial general intelligence (A.G.I.) system.”

How was it received?

The paper has had enormous influence since it was published a week after GPT-4 was released.

Thomas Wolf, co-founder of the high-profile A.I. start-up Hugging Face, wrote on X the next day that the study “had completely mind-blowing examples” of GPT-4.

Microsoft’s research has since been cited by more than 1,500 other papers, according to Google Scholar . It is one of the most cited articles on A.I. in the past five years, according to Semantic Scholar.

It has also faced criticism by experts, including some inside Microsoft, who were worried the 155-page paper supporting the claim lacked rigor and fed an A.I marketing frenzy.

The paper was not peer-reviewed, and its results cannot be reproduced because it was conducted on early versions of GPT-4 that were closely guarded at Microsoft and OpenAI. As the authors noted in the paper, they did not use the GPT-4 version that was later released to the public, so anyone else replicating the experiments would get different results.

Some outside experts said it was not clear whether GPT-4 and similar systems exhibited behavior that was something like human reasoning or common sense.

“When we see a complicated system or machine, we anthropomorphize it; everybody does that — people who are working in the field and people who aren’t,” said Alison Gopnik, a professor at the University of California, Berkeley. “But thinking about this as a constant comparison between A.I. and humans — like some sort of game show competition — is just not the right way to think about it.”

Were there other complaints?

In the paper’s introduction, the authors initially defined “intelligence” by citing a 30-year-old Wall Street Journal opinion piece that, in defending a concept called the Bell Curve, claimed “Jews and East Asians” were more likely to have higher I.Q.s than “blacks and Hispanics.”

Dr. Lee, who is listed as an author on the paper, said in an interview last year that when the researchers were looking to define A.G.I., “we took it from Wikipedia.” He said that when they later learned the Bell Curve connection, “we were really mortified by that and made the change immediately.”

Eric Horvitz, Microsoft’s chief scientist, who was a lead contributor to the paper, wrote in an email that he personally took responsibility for inserting the reference, saying he had seen it referred to in a paper by a co-founder of Google’s DeepMind A.I. lab and had not noticed the racist references. When they learned about it, from a post on X, “we were horrified as we were simply looking for a reasonably broad definition of intelligence from psychologists,” he said.

Is this A.G.I. or not?

When the Microsoft researchers initially wrote the paper, they called it “First Contact With an AGI System.” But some members of the team, including Dr. Horvitz, disagreed with the characterization.

He later told The Times that they were not seeing something he “would call ‘artificial general intelligence’ — but more so glimmers via probes and surprisingly powerful outputs at times.”

GPT-4 is far from doing everything the human brain can do.

In a message sent to OpenAI employees on Friday afternoon that was viewed by The Times, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer, Jason Kwon, explicitly said GPT-4 was not A.G.I.

“It is capable of solving small tasks in many jobs, but the ratio of work done by a human to the work done by GPT-4 in the economy remains staggeringly high,” he wrote. “Importantly, an A.G.I. will be a highly autonomous system capable enough to devise novel solutions to longstanding challenges — GPT-4 can’t do that.”

Still, the paper fueled claims from some researchers and pundits that GPT-4 represented a significant step toward A.G.I. and that companies like Microsoft and OpenAI would continue to improve the technology’s reasoning skills.

The A.I. field is still bitterly divided on how intelligent the technology is today or will be anytime soon. If Mr. Musk gets his way, a jury may settle the argument.

Karen Weise writes about technology and is based in Seattle. Her coverage focuses on Amazon and Microsoft, two of the most powerful companies in America. More about Karen Weise

Cade Metz writes about artificial intelligence, driverless cars, robotics, virtual reality and other emerging areas of technology. More about Cade Metz