Flexible Interconnection Structure for Stretchable Signal Reliability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wearable devices with copper layers or conductive printing ink for signal transmission in sensors deteriorate when stretched or curved, leading to transmission problems that affect detection quality and device reliability.
Innovation Solution
The use of flexible connection elements that extend along the deformation direction of the electronic device, providing stable electrical connections and maintaining functionality even when the device is twisted, rotated, stretched, or curved, while reducing the need for interconnection structures within the carrier.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If copper layers or conductive printing ink are used for signal transmission, then electrical connections can be established, but the connections deteriorate when the device is stretched or curved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs flexible connection elements with serpentine patterns that can bend and deform without breaking, replacing rigid copper layers and conductive printing ink. These flexible elements maintain electrical connectivity while accommodating device deformation, directly resolving the contradiction between connection reliability and structural stability during stretching or curving.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection elements are designed with dynamic serpentine geometries that allow controlled deformation during device bending or stretching. This dynamic design enables the connections to adapt to shape changes while maintaining electrical integrity, addressing both the reliability requirement and the structural stability during deformation.
2Reliability
If flexible connection elements are used to maintain stable connections during deformation, then detection quality and reliability improve, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flexible connection elements are segmented into serpentine patterns that can independently deform in different regions. This segmentation allows each segment to handle local deformation while maintaining overall connectivity, improving detection reliability without requiring a completely complex interconnection system.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the connection function with the structural design by integrating serpentine patterns directly into the flexible substrate layout. This combination eliminates the need for separate complex interconnection structures, achieving reliable connections during deformation while keeping the overall device design relatively simple.
3Ease of manufacture
If conventional copper layers are used, then manufacturing is straightforward, but transmission problems occur when the device conforms to body surfaces
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses flexible connection elements fabricated as thin film structures that can be deposited using standard flexible electronics manufacturing processes. This approach maintains ease of manufacture while enabling the connections to conform to body surfaces without signal transmission problems, unlike rigid copper layers.
Solution Approach 2:
The connection elements use altered geometric parameters (serpentine patterns with specific trace widths, spacing, and curvature radii) that enable flexibility while maintaining manufacturability through conventional flexible PCB or thin-film fabrication techniques. This resolves the contradiction between manufacturing simplicity and transmission reliability during body conformation.
Data Source
AI summary
The present disclosure provides an electronic device. The electronic device includes a flexible carrier, an electronic component disposed over the flexible carrier, and a first flexible connection element configured to connect the flexible carrier and the electronic component. The first flexible connection element is configured to extend along a deformation direction of the electronic device. An interconnection structure is also provided.