Textile integration of electronic circuits

• US 10,149,381 B2
• Filed: 06/26/2015
• Issued: 12/04/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 02/15/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: IMEC International, Universiteit Gent Vzw
• Original Assignee: IMEC International, Universiteit Gent Vzw
• Inventors: Van Keymeulen, Bjorn, Bossuyt, Frederick, Vervust, Thomas
• Primary Examiner(s): Vo, Peter DungBa
• Assistant Examiner(s): Carley, Jeffrey
• Application Number:
  US14/752,576
• Publication Number:
  US 20160100480A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,257 Days
• CPC Class Codes: A41D 1/002 adapted to accommodate electronic equipment patients' garments for medical monitoring A41D13/1281; luminous ornaments A41D27/085
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/0283 Stretchable printed circuits
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/038 Textiles used as reinforcing materials for organic insulating substrates H05K1/0366
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 1/189 characterised by the use of a flexible or folded printed circuit H05K3/326 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0263 Details about a collection of particles
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/0969 Apertured conductors
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2201/10977 Encapsulated connections
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 2203/107 Using laser light
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/0026 by laser ablation
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/321 by conductive adhesives
• CPC Class Codes: H05K 3/46 Manufacturing multilayer circuits

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to a method of integrating a interposer device with a textile layer, wherein the interposer device is a stretchable interposer device comprising a stretchable electrically conductive structure with at least one contact pad for establishing at least one electrically conductive path towards the textile layer. The interposer device is arranged to be mechanically attached to a textile layer comprising a plurality of yarns, at least one of which is an electrically conductive yarn. An electrical connection is established between the at least one conductive yarn of the textile layer and the at least one contact pad, which electrical connection is established after the interposer device has been mechanically attached to the textile layer.

Claims

1. A method of integrating a stretchable interposer device with a textile layer, the method comprising:

providing the textile layer, the textile layer comprising a plurality of yarns, the yarns comprising at least one electrically conductive yarn;

providing the interposer device comprising electrically insulating materials and a stretchable electrically conductive structure comprising at least one contact pad for establishing at least one electrically conductive path towards the at least one electrically conductive yarn of the textile layer;

positioning the interposer device such that the at least one contact pad of the electrically conductive structure is aligned with the at least one electrically conductive yarn of the textile layer, thereby defining at least one contacting location between the interposer device and the textile layer;

mechanically attaching the interposer device to the textile layer; and

establishing an electrical contact between the at least one contact pad and the at least one electrically conductive yarn at the at least one contacting location, wherein establishing an electrical contact is performed after mechanically attaching the interposer device to the textile layer and wherein establishing an electrical contact comprises

laser ablating, at the at least one contacting location, electrically insulating materials present between the at least one contact pad and the at least one electrically conductive yarn to form a via, and

filling the via with an electrically conductive material at the at least one contacting location so that an electrically conductive contact is formed between the respective contact pad and the respective electrically conductive yarn.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interposer device comprises a supporting layer.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein laser ablating the insulating materials comprises the formation of at least one via in the supporting layer at the at least one contacting location.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interposer device is mechanically attached to a first side of the textile layer, and wherein the laser ablation is performed from a second side of the textile layer opposite the first side.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interposer device is mechanically attached to a first side of the textile layer, and wherein the laser ablation is performed from the first side of the textile layer.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein mechanically attaching the interposer device to the textile layer comprises arranging an electrically non-conductive adhesive between the textile layer and the interposer device.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein mechanically attaching the interposer device to the textile layer further comprises curing the electrically non-conductive adhesive, thereby providing a permanent bond between the textile layer and the interposer device.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein the interposer device is mechanically attached to a first side of the textile layer, and wherein providing an electrically conductive material at the predetermined contact location is performed from a second side of the textile layer opposite the first side.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the electrically conductive material is an isotropic conductive adhesive material comprising metal particles.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein providing an electrically conductive material at the predetermined contact location comprises curing the electrically conductive material for providing a permanent bond between the respective contact pad and the respective electrically conductive yarn.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein the method further comprises providing at least one encapsulation layer for at least partly encapsulating the interposer device.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the encapsulation layer is made from a stretchable insulating polymer-based material.

13. The method according to claim 11, wherein the method further comprises curing the at least one encapsulating layer.

14. The method according to claim 7, wherein the curing is performed at a curing temperature of at least 15°

C. and at most 25°

C.

15. The method according to claim 10, wherein the curing is performed at a curing temperature of at least 15°

C. and at most 25°

C.

16. The method according to claim 13, wherein the curing is performed at a curing temperature of at least 15°

C. and at most 25°

C.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the at least one contact pad has a central opening.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the central opening is used as an alignment marker for locally removing, at the at least one contacting location, electrically insulating materials present between the at least one contact pad and the at least one electrically conductive yarn.

19. The method according to claim 1, wherein the stretchable electrically conductive structure comprises at least one stretchable interconnect.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the at least one stretchable interconnect comprises a metal track which follows a meandering path.