Printing Completely Conformal Liquid Metal Circuits on Arbitrary Curved Surfaces via Customized Conformal Mask

Abstract

Owing to the excellent mechanical adaptability to curved surfaces and high circuit flexibility, conformal electronics have been developed for extensive applications including aeronautics and wearable electronics. However, conventional methods for fabricating conformal circuits are often constrained by planar structures, limiting the design flexibility and applicability of electronic devices on more complex and varied surfaces. In this study, we propose a facial approach by combining a 3D‐printed customized conformal mask (CCM) with liquid metal inkjet printing, to establish the completely conformal liquid alloy circuits printing technique on arbitrary curved surfaces. We develop a two‐dimensional transient mathematical model to simulate the particle deposition process during inkjet printing and predict the form of the circuits on curved surfaces. Moreover, we characterize parameters such as line resistance and cross‐sectional morphology of liquid metal circuits on both deformable and non‐deformable surfaces. Various conformal liquid metal circuits, such as contour lines, expressions, text patterns, LED array illumination patterns, and multi‐channel pressure array intelligent skin on curved surfaces are demonstrated. Compared to traditional conformal electronics manufacturing methods, this new approach offers the advantages of simple processes, flexibility, low cost (within $0.01/cm2), and high efficiency (exceeding 1cm2/s), making it suitable for mass conformal electronics production.This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.