Printed Circuit Nano-Fiber Web via Electrospinning and Plating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible printed circuit boards lack sufficient flexibility, resilience, and air permeability, making them unsuitable for wearable smart devices and applications requiring these properties.
Innovation Solution
A method of manufacturing a printed circuit nano-fiber web by electrospinning a fiber-forming ingredient to create a nano-fiber web and coating a circuit pattern using an electroless plating method, which enhances flexibility, resilience, and air permeability, allowing for the production of a wearable and flexible electronic device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a flexible insulating substrate such as polyimide film is used as the base member, then the printed circuit board achieves flexibility, but it lacks sufficient resilience and air permeability
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous polymer nonwoven fabric as the base member instead of traditional polyimide film. The porous structure provides both flexibility and air permeability, while the nonwoven fabric composition enables resilience. This directly resolves the contradiction by selecting a material that inherently possesses all three required properties.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a composite structure combining a porous polymer nonwoven fabric base member with conductive patterns formed through electroless plating and electroplating. This composite approach allows the base material to provide flexibility, resilience, and air permeability, while the conductive layers provide electrical functionality without compromising the mechanical properties.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional photolithography and etching methods are used to form circuit patterns, then manufacturing precision is achieved, but the process complexity and difficulty of forming patterns on flexible substrates increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the conventional photolithography and etching process with an electroless plating method. Instead of using photoresist materials, UV exposure, chemical development, and mechanical etching, the invention uses electroless plating to directly deposit conductive material onto the flexible substrate in the desired circuit pattern. This substitution eliminates multiple complex process steps while maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental manufacturing parameter from photolithographic patterning to electrochemical deposition. By using electroless plating, the circuit patterns are formed through controlled chemical reduction of metal ions onto the substrate, fundamentally changing the manufacturing approach from mechanical/photographic to electrochemical, thereby simplifying the overall process.
3Manufacturing precision
If rigid reinforcement materials such as glass fiber are added to epoxy resin, then manufacturing precision and structural stability are improved, but flexibility is significantly reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a porous polymer nonwoven fabric as the base member, which inherently provides structural stability through its interconnected fiber network while maintaining flexibility. The porous structure allows the material to be lightweight and adaptable, eliminating the need for rigid glass fiber reinforcement that would compromise flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a flexible porous polymer nonwoven fabric as the base member, which acts as a flexible shell or film that can bend and conform without requiring rigid reinforcement. This flexible base member inherently provides the necessary structural stability for the printed circuit board while maintaining the required flexibility for wearable applications.
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 method achieves a printed circuit nano-fiber web with improved flexibility, resilience, and air permeability, making it suitable for wearable devices and medical applications such as biopatches, while ensuring uniformity and reliability of the circuit pattern.
Implementation Method 1
a step of electrospinning a spinning solution including a fiber-forming ingredient to manufacture a nano-fiber web
Implementation Method 2
a step of forming a circuit pattern to coat an outer surface of nano-fiber included in a predetermined region on the nano-fiber web using an electroless plating method
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a method of manufacturing a printed circuit nano-fiber web. A method of manufacturing a printed circuit nano-fiber web according to an embodiment of the present invention includes (1) a step of electrospinning a spinning solution including a fiber-forming ingredient to manufacture a nano-fiber web; and (2) a step of forming a circuit pattern to coat an outer surface of nano-fiber included in a predetermined region on the nano-fiber web using an electroless plating method. According to the present invention, a circuit pattern-printed nano-fiber web having flexibility and resilience suitable for future smart devices may be realized. In addition, a circuit pattern may be densely formed to a uniform thickness on a flexible nano-fiber web using an electroless plating method, and the flexible nano-fiber web may include a plurality of pores. Accordingly, since the printed circuit nano-fiber web may satisfy waterproofness and air permeability characteristics, it can be used in various future industrial fields including medical devices, such as biopatches, and an electronic device, such as smart devices.