Elastomeric Balloon Based Transfer Printing of Conformal Sensors

Schematic of soft elastomeric balloon based transfer printing process and conformal electronics resulting from the process.

(a) Schematic of soft elastomeric balloon based transfer printing process and (b) conformal electronics resulting from the process

Published March 18, 2016 This content is archived.

R. Rai (MAE), J. Shim (CSEE), A. Aref (CSEE), G. Dargush (MAE)

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The development of high performance conformal devices has been limited due to lack of suitable manufacturing processes.

Sensors with 3D curved shape are termed conformal sensors. Conformal sensors and electronics offer unique benefits due to the combination of unique electrical functions and non-planar 3D shape. Conformal sensors are a potentially transformative technology that will create a world of radically different electronic devices and systems that open up an entirely new spectrum of possibilities and applications in biomedical devices, telecommunication, wearable electronics, conformal displays and stretchable circuit boards. Recently, there has been significant progress in design and development of conformal sensors and electronics.

The development of high performance conformal devices has been limited due to lack of suitable manufacturing processes. Reliable fabrication of conformal sensors remains one of the most important problems in the manufacturing domain. In order to provide an effective solution to this problem, the team is investigating an innovative strategy to directly manufacture electronics on 3D curved surfaces by utilizing an extremely deformable elastomeric balloon type stamp as media. The basic hypothesis is that the deformable balloon elastomeric stamp will be able to grab (pick up) the electronics (inks) fabricated through traditional wafer technologies and to deliver (print) them effectively onto 3D curved surfaces with high accuracy.

The proposed strategy is expected to result in seamlessly integrated 3D electronics. The objective of this proposal is to elucidate the novel elastomeric balloon transfer printing (EBTP) for manufacturing 3D curved electronics and systems and to gain fundamental knowledge to validate the fidelity of it through combined experimental and theoretical studies.

Through the initial feasibility studies supported through this grant, we will address the following important questions:

  • Can the EBTP process be used to manufacture 3D electronics feasibly?
  • What are the interfacial interactions among the elastomeric balloon stamps, inks and the target surfaces?,
  • What are the governing factors to ensure a reliable 3D electronics manufacturing in the EBTP process?
  • How can the new theoretical and numerical tools to be developed to capture the multiphysics of balloon stamp/ink/receiver and the concurrent deformation?