Metal Printing Offers Low-Cost Way to Make Flexible, Stretchable Electronics
December 29, 2017 | North Carolina State UniversityEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Researchers from North Carolina State University have developed a new technique for directly printing metal circuits, creating flexible, stretchable electronics. The technique can use multiple metals and substrates and is compatible with existing manufacturing systems that employ direct printing technologies.
“Flexible electronics hold promise for use in many fields, but there are significant manufacturing costs involved – which poses a challenge in making them practical for commercial use,” says Jingyan Dong, corresponding author of a paper on the work and an associate professor in NC State’s Edward P. Fitts Department of Industrial & Systems Engineering.
“Our approach should reduce cost and offer an efficient means of producing circuits with high resolution, making them viable for integrating into commercial devices,” Dong says.
The technique uses existing electrohydrodynamic printing technology, which is already used in many manufacturing processes that use functional inks. But instead of ink, Dong’s team uses molten metal alloys with melting points as low as 60 degrees Celsius. The researchers have demonstrated their technique using three different alloys, printing on four different substrates: one glass, one paper and two stretchable polymers.
“This is direct printing,” Dong says. “There is no mask, no etching and no molds, making the process much more straightforward.”
The researchers tested the resilience of the circuits on a polymer substrate and found that the circuit’s conductivity was unaffected even after being bent 1,000 times. The circuits were still electrically stable even when stretched to 70 percent of tensile strain.
The researchers also found that the circuits are capable of “healing” themselves if they are broken by being bent or stretched too far.
“Because of the low melting point, you can simply heat the affected area up to around 70 degrees Celsius and the metal flows back together, repairing the relevant damage,” Dong says.
The researchers demonstrated the functionality of the printing technique by creating a high-density touch sensor, fitting a 400-pixel array into one square centimeter.
“We’ve demonstrated the resilience and functionality of our approach, and we’re open to working with the industry sector to implement the technique in manufacturing wearable sensors or other electronic devices,” Dong says.
Suggested Items
SEMI Applauds U.S. Chips Act Award for Samsung Electronics Facilities to Strengthen Domestic Semiconductor Supply Chain
04/17/2024 | SEMISEMI, the industry association serving the global electronics design and manufacturing supply chain, applauded the United States Department of Commerce’s announcement of a Preliminary Memorandum of Terms for an award under the CHIPS and Science Act to support the expansion of Samsung Electronics’ presence in Texas and the company’s development and production of leading-edge chips.
Ark Electronics Expands Global Manufacturing Factory Network in North America and Europe
04/17/2024 | PRNewswireElectronic Manufacturing Company Ark Electronics recently announced the expansion of its Global Factory Network with the addition of Electronics Manufacturing Service (EMS) capabilities in Mexico and Europe.
SIA Applauds CHIPS Act Incentives for Samsung Manufacturing Projects in Texas
04/16/2024 | SIAThe Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) released the following statement from SIA President and CEO John Neuffer applauding semiconductor manufacturing incentives announced by the U.S. Department of Commerce and Samsung.
Report Reveals ‘True Impact’ of Manufacturing is Nearly a Quarter of UK GDP
04/15/2024 | Manufacturing Technologies AssociationManufacturing is having a far greater impact on the UK economy than first thought according to a major new report released today.
Design Community Town Hall Review
04/11/2024 | Kelly Dack, CID+, EPTACThe Design Community Town Hall took place on the afternoon of April 10, 2024. I was fortunate to attend this event, which marked an opportunity for members of some newly found design groups to get together and exchange ideas. Peter Tranitz, senior director of solutions for IPC, opened the session with a slide presentation introducing these new groups and members within the solutions department.