Optimized Thermoforming Process for Conformable Electronics

Kallmayer, Christine; Schaller, Florian; Löher, Thomas; Haberland, Julian; Kayatz, Fabian; Schult, Andre

doi:10.1109/icmid.2018.8526929

Cited by 11 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 8 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Large-scale produced biopolymers such as polycaprolactone, poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG), sodium alginate, cellulose acetate, or poly(lactic acid) (PLA) have also been used as substrates for degradable or transient electronics. − In particular, thermoplastic polymers, such as PLA, are desirable for PCBs manufacturing because they are thermoformable and suitable for buildup by subsequent lamination of layers, a technique used in the development of conventional printed circuit boards, but can also be processed with additive manufacturing techniques for more advanced and niche applications. − Nevertheless, so far such biopolymer substrates were fabricated mostly via multistep, not scalable solvent-based procedures, such as spin coating or chemical etching when integrated with electrical components. ,,, In particular, PLA substrates were often processed through toxic solvents such as chloroform. , On the other hand, PEG or sodium alginate polymers are water-soluble and thus useful for transient applications, while they are not suitable for devices needing long-term ambient stability.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Green Conformable Thermoformed Printed Circuit Board Sourced from Renewable Materials

Honarbari,

Cataldi,

Zych

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) physically support and connect electronic components to the implementation of complex circuits. The most widespread insulating substrate that also acts as a mechanical support in PCBs is commercially known as FR4, and it is a glass-fiber-reinforced epoxy resin laminate. FR4 has exceptional dielectric, mechanical, and thermal properties. However, it was designed without considering sustainability and end-of-life aspects, heavily contributing to the accumulation of electronic waste in the environment. Thus, greener alternatives that can be reprocessed, reused, biodegraded, or composted at the end of their function are needed. This work presents the development and characterization of a PCB substrate based on poly(lactic acid) and cotton fabric, a compostable alternative to the conventional FR4. The substrate has been developed by compression molding, a process compatible with the polymer industry. We demonstrate that conductive silver ink can be additively printed on the substrate's surface, as its morphology and wettability are similar to those of FR4. For example, the compostable PCB's water contact angle is 72°, close to FR4's contact angle of 64°. The developed substrate can be thermoformed to curved surfaces at low temperatures while preserving the conductivity of the silver tracks. The green substrate has a dielectric constant comparable to that of the standard FR4, showing a value of 5.6 and 4.6 at 10 and 100 kHz, respectively, which is close to the constant value of 4.6 of FR4. The substrate is suitable for microdrilling, a fundamental process for integrating electronic components to the PCB. We implemented a proof-of-principle circuit to control the blinking of LEDs on top of the PCB, comprising resistors, capacitors, LEDs, and a dual in-line package circuit timer. The developed PCB substrate represents a sustainable alternative to standard FR4 and could contribute to the reduction of the overwhelming load of electronic waste in landfills.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Green Conformable Thermoformed Printed Circuit Board Sourced from Renewable Materials

Honarbari,

Cataldi,

Zych

et al. 2023

ACS Appl. Electron. Mater.

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Laptops, mobile phones and smart watches accompany us every day. There is a lot of effort from the scientific and industrial side to further make electronics commensurable with new shapes [1,2] and substrates to make it even more functional. One of the main directions of this integration is textile-integrated electronics (e-textiles, wearables) [3].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Washable, Low-Temperature Cured Joints for Textile-Based Electronics

et al. 2021

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Low-temperature die-attaching pastes for wearable electronics are the key components to realize any type of device where components are additively manufactured by pick and place techniques. In this paper, the authors describe a simple method to realize stretchable, bendable, die-attaching pastes based on silver flakes to directly mount resistors and LEDs onto textiles. This paste can be directly applied onto contact pads placed on textiles by means of screen and stencil printing and post-processed at low temperatures to achieve the desired electrical and mechanical properties below 60 °C without sintering. Low curing temperatures lead to lower power consumption, which makes this paste ecological friendly.

show abstract

“…The technology allows a greater freedom in three-dimensional design, for example, 3D antennas or even 3D arrays of 3D inductances [17]. Different technologies are available to manufacture plastronic devices, such as Laser Direct Structuring (LDS) [22], two-shot injection molding [23], In Mold Electronics (IME) [24,25], 3D microcontact printing [26], laser substractive structuring [27], aerosol jet [28,29], and direct ink writing [30]. Often the fabricated devices are named "3D-Molded Interconnect Devices" (3D-MID), although (according to us) 3D-MID should only refer to the LDS process (see [12] for a review on LDS).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

3D Plastronics for Smartly Integrated Magnetic Resonance Imaging Coils

et al. 2020

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Over the last four decades, magnetic resonance imaging has become the gold standard imaging technique in many medical diagnoses for brain, cardiac, and liver disease. However, due to low critical mass and great scientific challenges, instrumentation dedicated to preclinical MRI imaging has lagged behind instrumentation for clinical applications. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that a set of new technologies such as the 3D Molded Interconnect Devices technology preferably named below as 3D Plastronics, 3D Printing, and Microfluidics may be considered to provide a completely new way for designing preclinical MRI setups, i.e., the 3D prototyping and manufacturing of the MR coil, the sample holder, and the peripherals, all together. The fabricated MRI setup can be used both for MRI of small biological samples and for in vivo imaging of a mouse brain. This work is the first step toward the full 3D manufacturing of tailor-made multifunctional MRI probes.

show abstract

Optimized Thermoforming Process for Conformable Electronics

Cited by 11 publications

References 8 publications

A Green Conformable Thermoformed Printed Circuit Board Sourced from Renewable Materials

A Green Conformable Thermoformed Printed Circuit Board Sourced from Renewable Materials

Washable, Low-Temperature Cured Joints for Textile-Based Electronics

3D Plastronics for Smartly Integrated Magnetic Resonance Imaging Coils

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About