Feasibility Study of Magnetically Enhanced Interconnects for Integration of Flexible and Stretchable Electronics

Abstract

Stretchable electronics are the logical consequence of flexible electronics to enable more fields of applications with high functionalization. Especially the applications of wearables, healthcare systems and systems for human machine interface drive the developments of the stretchable electronic technologies. Silicone and polyurethane (PU) are materials, which can be easily used as substrates. In combination with additive structuring technologies, the substrates can be used as printed circuit boards and functionalized to simple electronic systems by printing. For high function integration, silicon-based semiconductor technologies are still necessary, which has to be integrated in stretchable electronic systems. The manufacturing of those reliable stretchable electronics and the integration to usable systems are still challenging, e.g. the integration to electronic gloves with sensors and communication. Especially the integration of sensors or integrated circuits in stretchable systems are still challenging. In this paper, the approach to separate the systems in flexible and stretchable subsystems is a solution to simplify the overall manufacturing process. Therefore, the functional electronics can be integrated in the flexible part. The stretchable part works as interconnect for power supply or data transmission and enables the stretching of the system. The interconnection is designed as a sliding contact to reduce the mechanical stress. By the use of magnetic foils on both sides the needed force for a reliable interconnect is ensured. The electrical qualifying by resistance measurement and data transfer measurements show promising results, which were used to design and manufacture a demonstrator of an electronic glove.