Stretchable and foldable electronic devices

• US 8,905,772 B2
• Filed: 08/23/2013
• Issued: 12/09/2014
• 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, Northwestern University
• Inventors: Rogers, John A, Huang, Yonggang, Ko, Heung Cho, Stoykovich, Mark, Choi, Won Mook, Ahn, Jong Hyun, Kim, Dae Hyeong, Song, Jizhou
• Primary Examiner(s): NGUYEN, KHIEM M
• Application Number:
  US13/974,963
• Publication Number:
  US 20140140020A1
• Time in Patent Office: 473 Days
• Field of Search: 174/254, 438/30, 438/780, 438/790, 438/794, 257642-643
• US Class Current: 439/254
• 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 stretchable and foldable multilayer electronic device, comprising:

a substrate;

an isolation layer disposed on a portion of the substrate;

a functional layer comprising;

at least one device island; and

at least one stretchable interconnect coupled to the at least one device island;

wherein at least a portion of the device island is in physical communication with the isolation layer; and

wherein at least a portion of the stretchable interconnect is not in physical communication with the isolation layer;

one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers; and

one or more encapsulating layers disposed over the at least one device island,

wherein at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers is disposed over said functional layer,

wherein at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers of said multilayer electronic device has a property that is spatially inhomogeneous relative to a location in said multilayer electronic device.

2. The device of claim 1, wherein said spatially inhomogeneous property, said isolation layer, said at least one stretchable interconnect, and said one or more encapsulating layers position a spatially varying neutral mechanical surface that is coincident with or proximate to said functional layer.

3. The device of claim 2, wherein said spatial variations in said spatially inhomogeneous property causes said spatially varying neutral mechanical surface to be positioned at different distances from a top surface of the multilayer electronic device in different spatial regions of the multilayer electronic device, relative to said functional layer.

4. The device of claim 1 wherein the spatially inhomogeneous property of said at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers is one or more of:

a spatially varying porosity;

a spatially varying extent of crosslinking;

a spatially varying Young'"'"'s modulus;

a spatially varying deposition of an add layer;

or

a spatially varying placement of recess features.

5. The device of claim 4, wherein said one or more recess features are etch holes.

6. The device of claim 1, wherein said substrate or at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers is formed in a lateral pattern.

7. The device of claim 6, wherein each layer of said multilayer electronic device has a thickness, and wherein said lateral pattern comprises a selectively varied thickness of said substrate layer or a selectively varied thickness of said at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers.

8. The device of claim 6, wherein said lateral pattern comprises a modulation of a mechanical property of said substrate or of said at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers;

and wherein said mechanical property is selected from the group consisting of a porosity, an extent of cross linking and a Young'"'"'s modulus.

9. The device of claim 1, wherein said one or more encapsulating layer has a thickness that varies selectively in a lateral direction.

10. The device of claim 1, wherein the substrate comprises a polymer, a semiconductor material, a ceramic, a glass, a metal, a fabric, a vinyl material, leather, latex, spandex, or paper.

11. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one stretchable interconnect comprises a pop-up interconnect, a curved interconnect, a serpentine interconnect, or a wavy interconnect.

12. The device of claim 11, wherein the at least one stretchable interconnect comprises an electrically conductive stretchable interconnect or an electrically non-conductive stretchable interconnect.

13. The device of claim 1, wherein the at least one device island comprises an electrical device, an optical device, a mechanical device or a thermal device.

14. The device of claim 1, wherein one or more of the at least one device island comprises a device component selected from the group consisting of a photodiode, a light-emitting diode, a thin-film transistor, an electrode, a semiconductor component, an integrated circuit, a contact pad, a circuit element, a control element, a microprocessor, a transducer, a biological sensor, a chemical sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a radiation sensor, a solar cell, a photovoltaic array, and any combination thereof.

15. The device of claim 1, wherein the functional layer comprises a passive electronic component or an active electronic component.

16. A stretchable and foldable multilayer electronic device comprising:

a substrate layer;

a functional layer; and

one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers,

wherein said functional layer is supported by said substrate layer,

wherein at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers is disposed above said functional layer,

wherein at least one of said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers of said multilayer device has a property that is spatially inhomogeneous relative to a location in said multilayer device,

wherein a spatially varying neutral mechanical surface is positioned coincident with or proximate to said functional layer based on said spatially inhomogeneous property, and

wherein, based on spatial variations in said spatially inhomogeneous property, said spatially varying neutral mechanical surface is positioned at different distances from a top surface of the multilayer device in different spatial regions of the multilayer device, relative to said functional layer.

17. The device of claim 16, wherein the spatially inhomogeneous property of the at least one of the one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers is one or more of:

a spatially varying porosity;

a spatially varying extent of crosslinking;

a spatially varying Young'"'"'s modulus;

a spatially varying deposition of an add layer;

or

a spatially varying placement of recess features.

18. The device of claim 17, wherein said recess features are etch holes.

19. The device of claim 16, wherein said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers comprises thin films or add layers.

20. The device of claim 16, wherein said one or more neutral mechanical surface adjusting layers comprises one or more encapsulating layers.

21. The device of claim 16, wherein the functional layer comprises at least one device island and at least one stretchable interconnect.

22. The device of claim 21, wherein the at least one stretchable interconnect comprises a pop-up interconnect, a curved interconnect, a serpentine interconnect, or a wavy interconnect.

23. The device of claim 22, wherein the at least one stretchable interconnect comprises an electrically conductive stretchable interconnect or an electrically non-conductive stretchable interconnect.

24. The device of claim 21, wherein the at least one device island comprises an electrical device, an optical device, a mechanical device or a thermal device.

25. The device of claim 21, wherein one or more of the at least one device island comprises a device component selected from the group consisting of a photodiode, a light-emitting diode, a thin-film transistor, an electrode, a semiconductor component, an integrated circuit, a contact pad, a circuit element, a control element, a microprocessor, a transducer, a biological sensor, a chemical sensor, a temperature sensor, a light sensor, a radiation sensor, a solar cell, a photovoltaic array, or any combination thereof.

26. The device of claim 16, wherein the functional layer comprises a passive electronic component or an active electronic component.

27. The device of claim 16, wherein the substrate comprises a polymer, a semiconductor material, a ceramics, a glass, a metal, a fabric, a vinyl material, leather, latex, spandex, or paper.