Flexible Stretchable Structures With Conductive Gel Connectivity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible electronic circuits face limitations in thickness and size due to material constraints, making them less flexible and stretchable, which is a challenge for applications requiring routine bending and stretching.
Innovation Solution
A flexible and stretchable system is developed using a substrate layer with a metal layer, where the metal layer is deposited on the substrate, and conductive gel or fluid phase conductors provide electrical connectivity, allowing for stencil-in-place structures and integration into textile systems, enhancing flexibility and stretchability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If conventional wires and circuit boards are made thin to achieve flexibility, then flexibility is improved, but the structural integrity and electrical connectivity are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite structure combining a flexible substrate layer with a metal layer deposited thereon. This composite approach allows the circuit to achieve both flexibility from the substrate and structural integrity from the metal layer, resolving the contradiction between flexibility and strength. The metal layer provides mechanical reinforcement while the substrate maintains flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes a thin film metal layer deposited on a flexible substrate to create a circuit that maintains both flexibility and structural integrity. The thin film approach allows the circuit to be flexible while the substrate provides the necessary mechanical support, solving the contradiction between thinness and strength.
2Ease of operation
If conventional circuit boards are made thin to achieve stretchability, then stretchability is improved, but electrical connectivity and signal integrity are degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical state of the conductive material by using a metal layer deposited on the substrate, which maintains electrical connectivity through phase changes or structural transformations during stretching. This allows the circuit to stretch while maintaining reliable electrical connections.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure of substrate layer plus metal layer provides both stretchability from the substrate and reliable electrical connectivity from the metal layer. The metal layer maintains its conductive properties during stretching, ensuring electrical reliability while the substrate provides stretchability.
3Ease of operation
If metal volume is reduced to achieve flexibility, then flexibility is improved, but electrical conductivity and power transmission capability are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a thin film metal layer that provides sufficient electrical conductivity for power transmission despite its thinness. The thin film approach reduces the overall volume while maintaining the necessary electrical properties through optimized material selection and layer configuration.
Solution Approach 2:
The composite structure allows for reduced metal volume while maintaining electrical conductivity through the substrate layer's contribution to the overall electrical pathway. The combination of substrate and metal layer achieves both flexibility and adequate power transmission capability.
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
The system achieves improved flexibility and stretchability, enabling electrical connectivity in various components and systems, including textile integration, with minimal metal volume and thickness, facilitating applications like RF shielding and high-power buses.
Implementation Method 1
a metal layer 106 on a major surface of the substrate layer 104. In various examples, the metal layer 106 is deposited onto the substrate layer 104.
Implementation Method 2
The flexible and stretchable structure provides for the inclusion of conductive gel or other fluid phase conductor which provides further electrical connectivity between and among the various components
Data Source
AI summary
Devices, systems, and methods include a substrate layer, a metal layer coupled to the substrate layer, an encapsulant coupled to the substrate layer and the metal layer, and a stencil-in-place structure. The encapsulant is configured to electrically isolate the metal layer from environmental conditions. The stencil-in-place structure includes a stencil substrate and conductive gel secured within a channel and a via formed by the stencil substrate, the conductive gel electrically coupled to the metal layer.