The continued miniaturization of supercapacitors for inclusion in microelectronic devices is constrained by complex or harsh processing conditions inherent in current manufacturing processes. These limitations were overcome by researchers in South Korea by fabrication of solid-state microsupercapacitors on a chip using electrohydrodynamic (EHD) jet printing technology.
This high-resolution patterning technique in microelectronics uses the electrode and electrolyte for printing purposes similar to that of conventional inkjet printing and controls printed liquid with an electric field. Nanosized activated carbon-based electrode inks were deposited by EHD jet printing on a titanium/old current collector 
Schematic representation depicting stepwise fabrication of the on-chip microsupercapacitor. Source: Kwon-Hyung Lee, Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technologyand silicon chip substrate to form high-resolution interdigitated electrodes of 10 μm width. The resulting on-chip solid-state microsupercapacitors were monolithically integrated with a circuit board and exhibited high areal number density and areal operating voltage of 65.9 V/cm2, exceeding that demonstrated with other printing techniques.
On exposure to temperatures up to 80° C, the cells maintained normal cyclic voltammetry profiles and demonstrated capacity to withstand excessive heat generated during the operation of an actual electronic component. The on-chip microsupercapacitors offer a new platform technology for miniaturized monolithic power sources with customized design and tunable electrochemical properties.
The research conducted by scientists from Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology and Sungkyunkwan University is published in Science Advances.
