Stretchable and foldable electronic devices

• US 10,064,269 B2
• Filed: 10/22/2014
• Issued: 08/28/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/05/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois, Northwestern University
• Original Assignee: Board of Trustees of The University of Illinois
• Inventors: Rogers, John A, Huang, Yonggang, Ko, Heung Cho, Stoykovich, Mark, Choi, Won Mook, Song, Jizhou, Ahn, Jong Hyun, Kim, Dae Hyeong
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Khiem
• Application Number:
  US14/521,319
• Publication Number:
  US 20150181700A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,406 Days
• Field of Search: 174254, 438 30, 438780, 438790, 438794, 257642-643, 361749
• CPC Class Codes: B33Y 80/00 Products made by additive manufacturing
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/4867 Applying pastes or inks, e.g. screen printing H01L21/486 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/6835 using temporarily an auxiliary support
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2221/68359 used as a support during manufacture of interconnect decals or build up layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/05624 Aluminium [Al] as principal constituent
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 23/4985 Flexible insulating substrates H01L23/49572 and H01L23/49855 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0655 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/50 Multistep manufacturing processes of assemblies consisting of devices, each device being of a type provided for in group H01L27/00 or H01L29/00 H01L21/50 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/14601 Structural or functional details thereof
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01019 Potassium [K]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01046 Palladium [Pd]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01057 Lanthanum [La]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/01079 Gold [Au]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/09701 Low temperature co-fired ceramic [LTCC]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12044 OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/13091 Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor Field-Effect Transistor [MOSFET]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/1461 MEMS
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/3025 Electromagnetic shielding
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/028 Bending or folding regions of flexible printed circuits H05K1/0283 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0283 : Stretchable printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/03 : Use of materials for the substrate
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/036 : Multilayers with layers of different types
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0393 : Flexible materials H05K1/038 takes precedence; specific organic compositions are classified in H05K1/0313 and subgroups
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/111 : Pads for surface mounting, e.g. lay-out
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/118 : specially for flexible printed circuits, e.g. using folded portions
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/16 : incorporating printed electric components, e.g. printed resistor, capacitor, inductor
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/185 : Components encapsulated in the insulating substrate of the printed circuit or incorporated in internal layers of a multilayer circuit semiconductor chips encapsulated by interconnect and support structures H01L23/5389, H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0133 : Elastomeric or compliant polymer elastomeric conductor H05K2201/0314
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/0271 : Mechanical force other than pressure, e.g. shearing or pulling
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/207 : using a prefabricated paste pattern, ink pattern or powder pattern
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/284 : for encapsulating mounted components H05K1/185 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/30 : Assembling printed circuits with electric components, e.g. with resistor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49002 : Electrical device making
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/4913 : Assembling to base an electrical component, e.g., capacitor, etc.
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49146 : with encapsulating, e.g., potting, etc.

Abstract

Disclosed herein are stretchable, foldable and optionally printable, processes for making devices and devices such as semiconductors, electronic circuits and components thereof that are capable of providing good performance when stretched, compressed, flexed or otherwise deformed. Strain isolation layers provide good strain isolation to functional device layers. Multilayer devices are constructed to position a neutral mechanical surface coincident or proximate to a functional layer having a material that is susceptible to strain-induced failure. Neutral mechanical surfaces are positioned by one or more layers having a property that is spatially inhomogeneous, such as by patterning any of the layers of the multilayer device.

Claims

1. A method of making a stretchable and foldable electronic device, said method comprising:

coating a receiving substrate having a first Young'"'"'s modulus with an isolation layer having a second Young'"'"'s modulus, said isolation layer having a receiving surface, wherein said second Young'"'"'s modulus is less than said first Young'"'"'s modulus;

at least partially supporting an electronic device on said isolation layer receiving surface;

encapsulating at least a portion of said electronic device in an encapsulation layer; and

wherein said isolation layer isolates at least a portion of said electronic device from an applied strain.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of a polymer, an elastomer, a ceramic a metal, glass, a semiconductor, an inorganic polymer, and an organic polymer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving substrate comprises a material selected from the group consisting of fabric, vinyl, latex, spandex, leather and paper.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein said isolation layer provides at least a 20% or greater strain isolation compared to a device without said strain isolation layer.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the ratio of said first Young'"'"'s modulus to said second Young'"'"'s modulus is greater than or equal to 10.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said electronic device comprises a component of an electronic device, wherein said component comprises a plurality of interconnects.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein at least a portion of said interconnects have a curved geometry.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said isolation layer comprises a polymer and said polymer at least partially penetrates said receiving substrate.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the receiving substrate comprises fibers, wherein at least a portion of the fibers are embedded in said isolation layer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said receiving substrate has a surface texture to increase contact area between said isolation layer and said receiving substrate.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said encapsulation layer has a Young'"'"'s modulus that is less than or equal to said second Young'"'"'s modulus.

12. The method of claim 11 wherein said encapsulation layer has an inhomogeneous Young'"'"'s modulus.

13. A stretchable and foldable electronic device comprising:

a receiving substrate;

an isolation layer that at least partially coats one surface of said receiving substrate, said isolation layer having a Young'"'"'s modulus less than or equal to said receiving substrate Young'"'"'s modulus;

an electronic device that is at least partially supported by said isolation layer;

wherein said isolation layer is capable of providing at least 20% or greater strain isolation when said device is stretched or folded compared to a device without said isolation layer; and

an encapsulation layer that at least partially encapsulates said electronic device.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein said electronic device comprises bond regions that are bonded to said isolation layer.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein said electronic device comprises non-bond regions that connect adjacent bond regions, said non-bond regions comprising bent interconnects.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein said encapsulation layer has a Young'"'"'s modulus that is less than or equal to said isolation layer Young'"'"'s modulus.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein said encapsulation layer has an inhomogeneous Young'"'"'s modulus.

18. A stretchable and foldable electronic device comprising:

a support layer, wherein said layer is elastomeric;

a functional layer supported by said support layer;

an one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layer; and

an encapsulation layer that at least partially encapsulates said functional layer;

wherein at least one or more of any of the layers has a property that is spatially inhomogeneous, thereby generating a neutral mechanical surface coincident or proximate to said functional layer.

19. The device of claim 18, wherein said inhomogeneous layer property provides one or more flexible or elastic device region interspersed between a one or more mechanically rigid island regions.

20. The device of claim 18, wherein the functional layer comprises an array of nanoribbons.

21. The device of claim 20, wherein the nanoribbons are buckled and have a first end connected to a first rigid island region and a second end connected to a second rigid island region.