Flexible Stretchable Electronic Devices With Serpentine Interconnects
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible electronic structures are not stretchable and have limited mechanical properties, making it challenging to create flexible and stretchable electronic devices that can conform to non-planar surfaces without suffering functional damage due to excessive strain.
Innovation Solution
The method involves forming electronic circuitry layers with separator layers and electrical connector layers on semiconductor substrates, followed by thinning and transferring the structures to flexible substrates, allowing for the creation of flexible and stretchable electronic structures with multiple levels of intra-chip connectors formed through deposition and patterning, rather than bonding or soldering.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional flexible electronic structures are made by thinning rigid substrates, then flexibility is improved, but stretchability and mechanical properties deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic structure is divided into multiple discrete electronic components (chips) that are transferred onto a flexible substrate. These components are separated by separator layers that can be selectively removed, allowing the structure to stretch while maintaining electrical connections through serpentine wiring patterns that can deform without breaking.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible substrate as the base material and uses thin film deposition techniques to create the electronic components and interconnects. The serpentine metal wires are designed as flexible interconnect structures that can bend and stretch, enabling the overall device to be both flexible and stretchable while maintaining electrical functionality.
2Ease of operation
If small thin electronic components are used to achieve flexibility, then flexibility is improved, but wiring complexity and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electronic components are pre-fabricated as small thin chips with integrated circuitry before being transferred to the flexible substrate. The separator layers are pre-formed between components, and the serpentine interconnect patterns are pre-designed into the flexible substrate, reducing the complexity of assembling and wiring the components afterward.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator layers serve as intermediary structures that facilitate the transfer and positioning of electronic components on the flexible substrate. These layers can be selectively removed to release components while maintaining the structural integrity of the flexible substrate and the serpentine interconnects, simplifying the assembly process.
Data Source
AI summary
Fabrication methods are disclosed that facilitate the production of electronic structures that are both flexible and stretchable to conform to non-planar (e.g. curved) surfaces without suffering functional damage due to excessive strain. Electronic structures including CMOS devices are provided that can be stretched or squeezed within acceptable limits without failing or breaking. The methods disclosed herein further facilitate the production of flexible, stretchable electronic structures having multiple levels of intra-chip connectors. Such connectors are formed through deposition and photolithographic patterning (back end of the line processing) and can be released following transfer of the electronic structures to flexible substrates.