Flexible Electronic System with Rigid Components in Elastomer
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Solution Overview
Problem
Wearable devices often underutilize space due to rigid electronic components, leading to manufacturing challenges like delamination at rigid-soft interfaces and substantial electrical losses in stretchable traces, which limits their flexibility and functionality.
Innovation Solution
The integration of rigid components within a flexible and/or stretchable substrate using panel-level manufacturing, high-density interconnects, and novel materials like inhibited silicones and liquid metals, along with microfluidic channels for haptic actuation, enables dense, lightweight, and functional electronic systems.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If rigid components are used for electronics, power supplies, and sensors, then structural stability and manufacturing precision are improved, but device flexibility and space utilization deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The device is divided into rigid electronic components and flexible wearable components. The rigid components (electronics, power supplies, sensors) are segmented into modular units that can be independently placed on flexible substrates, allowing the device to maintain structural stability where needed while achieving flexibility in the wearable portions.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the device have different mechanical properties. The electronic components maintain rigid characteristics for stability and precision, while the wearable portions (bands, straps) have flexible characteristics for comfort and adaptability. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by allowing each component to have the optimal property for its function.
2Ease of manufacture
If rigid capsule design is used for electronics, then manufacturing ease is improved, but space utilization deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The design transitions from a purely three-dimensional rigid capsule to a two-dimensional flexible substrate layout. This allows electronic components to be arranged in plane-based configurations, maximizing space utilization by utilizing available surface area more efficiently while maintaining manufacturing ease through standardized flexible substrate production.
3Adaptability or versatility
If stretchable traces are used to connect components, then device flexibility is improved, but electrical performance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical and mechanical parameters of the trace material are optimized to maintain low electrical resistance while providing flexibility. By changing the material composition and structural parameters of the traces, the design achieves both flexibility for device adaptability and reliable electrical performance for signal transmission.
4Ease of manufacture
If rigid-soft interface bonding is used, then assembly ease is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to delamination
Solution Approach 1:
An intermediary bonding layer or interface treatment is introduced between rigid and soft components to prevent delamination. This intermediate layer facilitates reliable bonding while maintaining assembly simplicity, resolving the contradiction by adding a small complexity step that prevents a major reliability failure mode.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the bonding of stretchable elastomers to rigid components, reduces interfacial failures, and achieves compact, powerful, and flexible wearable devices with improved strain tolerance and electrical performance.
Implementation Method 1
stretchable traces suffer from substantial electrical losses as a function of strain
Implementation Method 2
the bonding of stretchable elastomers to rigid components (integrated circuits (ICs), surface mount devices (SMDs), and FPC regions may be enhanced, thereby circumventing common rigid-soft interfacial failures)
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible electronic system comprises a flexible substrate comprising an interlayer elastomer dielectric and a plurality of rigid components disposed within the flexible substrate. The flexible electronic system may further comprise a high-density interconnect region comprising one or more routing layers. In examples, the flexible electronic system may further comprise a flexible barrier material encapsulating the flexible electronic system. In some examples the flexible electronic system and the high-density interconnect region may further comprise a plurality of routing layers and one or more through-vias. Each through-via may couple at least one of two rigid components, two routing layers, or a rigid component and a routing layer. In examples, at least some of the routing layers may comprise conductive traces.