Stretchable Wiring With Composite Conductive Layers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electronic devices struggle to maintain electrical conductivity while being stretchable due to the limitations of traditional materials like metal and the potential for cracks in alternative materials like carbon nanotubes when subjected to repeated stretching.
Innovation Solution
The use of a wiring structure with a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer, where the second layer is easier to curve and overlapped with the first layer in curved regions to prevent disconnection and maintain conductivity during stretching and contraction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If metal materials are used for wirings to ensure excellent conductivity, then electrical conductivity is improved, but flexibility and stretchability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs a composite wiring structure consisting of multiple layers with different material properties. The first conductive layer provides excellent electrical conductivity using metal materials, while the second conductive layer made of elastomeric material provides flexibility and stretchability. This composite structure allows the wiring to maintain both high conductivity and adaptability to stretching deformations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If alternative materials like carbon nanotubes or conductive polymers are used to improve flexibility, then stretchability is improved, but electrical conductivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines alternative materials with traditional metal conductors in a multi-layer structure. The elastomeric layer provides the necessary stretchability while the metal layer maintains excellent electrical conductivity. This composite approach allows the wiring to achieve both improved flexibility and maintained conductivity.
3Adaptability or versatility
If wiring structure is changed to enable stretchability, then flexibility is improved, but cracks may occur under repeated stretching stresses
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a dynamic wiring structure that can adapt its shape during stretching. The second elastomeric conductive layer is designed to deform elastically under stress and return to its original shape, allowing the wiring to dynamically respond to stretching forces without developing permanent deformations or cracks.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastomeric second conductive layer acts as a protective cushion for the metal first conductive layer during stretching. This softer layer absorbs and distributes mechanical stresses before they can concentrate and cause cracking in the more brittle metal conductor, thereby preventing crack formation in advance.
4Device complexity
If a single conductive layer is used to simplify structure, then device complexity is reduced, but conductivity maintenance during stretching deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a composite multi-layer wiring structure where each layer contributes specific properties. The first metal layer ensures conductivity while the second elastomeric layer ensures stretchability. This division of functional responsibilities across layers maintains conductivity during stretching better than a single-layer structure could achieve.
Data Source
AI summary
An electronic device including a stretchable/contractible base and a wiring formed on the base, the wiring being divided into a first region having a shape extending in a proceeding direction and a second region in which the proceeding direction is curved. The wiring includes a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer formed of a material that makes the second conductive layer easier to be curved than the first conductive layer. The first conductive layer is formed in the first region and the second conductive layer is formed in the second region.