Mechanics of noncoplanar mesh design for stretchable electronic circuits

TLDR

The study investigates a noncoplanar mesh design that allows electronic systems to stretch reversibly beyond 100%. The design employs semiconductor islands linked by buckled thin interconnects on elastomeric substrates, and a mechanics model is developed to explain the behavior and guide system design. The model predicts buckle amplitudes within 5.5% of experimental values and determines maximum strains in interconnects and islands, as well as overall system stretchability and compressibility.

Abstract

A noncoplanar mesh design that enables electronic systems to achieve large, reversible levels stretchability (>100%) is studied theoretically and experimentally. The design uses semiconductor device islands and buckled thin interconnects on elastometric substrates. A mechanics model is established to understand the underlying physics and to guide the design of such systems. The predicted buckle amplitude agrees well with experiments within 5.5% error without any parameter fitting. The results also give the maximum strains in the interconnects and the islands, as well as the overall system stretchability and compressibility.