art wall

Collaborative Research in Flexible Hybrid Electronics

Abstract

Innovative technologies in today’s electronics industry continue to evolve rapidly. A new class of electronics that is enabling new applications and form factors is Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE). Flexible circuits are common, but in this case conductive traces are printed on flexible plastic substrates with a wide variety of additive methods, including screen printing, ink jet, aerosol jet, and gravure offset. The plastic substrates are typically tailored to the application and sometimes include surface treatments. Typical substrates include PET, PI, and TPU.  While the print processes may be well known, the methods and materials used for electronics applications are new and highly dependent on the desired outcome. The “hybrid” of FHE is defined by leveraging the best of commercial integrated circuits at wafer level after thinning them so the chip becomes flexible (<50μm). Unpackaged chips are attached directly to the printed circuits to make unique devices that can be prototyped rapidly and enable new applications. In nearly all cases, we are dealing with new materials or at least new interfaces between flexible plastic substrates, new or repurposed adhesives, and electronic components. The applications are far reaching and include aerospace, automotive, asset monitoring, medical devices, and more. NextFlex leads more than 100 members of its consortium, working collaboratively to mature this new breed of electronics fabrication into manufacturing jobs in the US.

About the Speaker

Dr. Art Wall is Director of Fab Operations at NextFlex, managing the Technology Hub which houses multiple process tools for Flexible Hybrid Electronics development, prototyping and light volume manufacturing. Prior to joining NextFlex, Art led many different groups and technologies associated with hard drive products for both IBM and Hitachi Global Storage Technologies. His most recent efforts prior to joining NextFlex were as a co-founder and Vice President of NuvoSun, an innovative flexible, thin film photovoltaic company that was acquired by The Dow Chemical Company. Art has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Physics from Gustavus Adolphus College and a Ph.D. in Materials Science from the University of Minnesota. Art has co-authored more than 30 articles in refereed journals, presented at 19 US and International Conferences, and holds 6 US patents.