A Method of Fabricating Free-Standing Flexible Substrates for Sensors and Electronics
- 详细技术说明
- The invention is a method for more efficiently creating superior substrates that are flexible in three dimensions and can be worn, attached to moving objects, or used to produce truly flexible displays.
- *Abstract
-
This technology allows significant advances in the application of sensing technology. The invention is a method for more efficiently creating superior substrates that are flexible in three dimensions and can be worn, attached to moving objects, or used to produce truly flexible displays.
DESCRIPTION/DETAILS
This invention is a method for constructing weaved fabrics out of a variety of materials. The invention utilizes conventional semiconductor processes to produce a three-dimensional, free-standing structure over a large area. The weaved fabric may contain integrated sensors, actuators, fluid components, and electronic circuits. The result is a free-standing, integrated and flexible fabric with feature sizes that range from about 10 nanometers to about one millimeter. This allows flexible sensor and electronic skins to be formed that will be able to withstand mechanical deformation and shearing.
The invention encompasses both flexible electronics and macroelectronics and is at an early stage of development. The motivation for the invention is to develop a method to put both electronics and sensors/actuators on a large area flexible substrate because most existing applications for integrated electronic devices are not conformal to curved surfaces or flexible in three dimensions.
Potential applications include flexible solar cell panels, conformal optoelectronics, biomedical devices, smart fabrics, and tactile sensor-enabled fabrics.
APPLICATIONS
- Wearable computers
- Sensors
- Smart Fabrics
- Smart Skins
- Plastic Displays
- Lighting Systems
- Military/Space equipment
- Toys
BENEFITS
- Integrates with existing production methods
- Components can be created using current microelectronic fabrication methods
- Adaptable to materials: Components can be fabricated from a variety of materials, such as polymer, metal or silicon.
- Efficient: The technology creates patterning that can be done continuously over large areas enabling flexible devices with the same electrical properties as their more rigid counterparts. .
- Low Cost: Enables the use of low cost substrate materials.
For more information about this technology, please contact the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Office of Technology Management at otm@illinois.edu.
- *IP Issue Date
- None
- *IP Type
- Utility
- 国家
- United States
- 申请号码
- 7501069
- 国家/地区
- 美国
