FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS

Presented by
Ashwin.k
4SN14EC704
 Objective
• WHAT IS FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS

• HISTORY

• Flexible circuit structures

• Flexible circuit materials

• Applications
DEFINITION & HISTORY
Flexible electronics is a technology for
assembling electronic circuits by mounting
electronic devices on flexible plastic substrates,
such as polyimide, PEEK or transparent
conductive polyester film. Additionally, flex
circuits can be screen printed silver circuits
on polyester.
• Flexible printed circuits (FPC) are
made with a photolithographic
technology. An other way of making
flexible foil circuits or flexible flat
cables (FFCs) is laminating very thin
copper strips in between two layers
of PET.

• PATENTS ISSUED at 20th century.

• In the 1947 publication "Printed

Circuit Techniques" by Cledo
Brunetti and Roger W. Curtis.
Flexible circuit structures
• Single-sided flex circuits

• Double access or back bared flex circuits

• Sculptured flex circuits

• Double-sided flex circuits

• Multilayer flex circuits

• Rigid-flex circuits

• Polymer thick film flex circuits

 Single-sided flex circuits
• A single conductor layer made of
either a metal
• Can be fabricated with or without
such protective coatings as cover
layers
• Protective coatings are most
common practice
• Used in LED glass.
Double access
• Also called as back
bared flex circuits.
• A single conductor
layer but which is
processed so as to
allow access to
selected features of
the conductor pattern
from both sides.
• Limited use.
Sculptured flex circuits
• A novel subset of normal flexible
circuit structures.
• Process involves a special flex
circuit multi-step etching
method.
• Flexible circuit having
finished copper conductors.
 Double-sided flex circuits
• Two conductor layers
• Can be fabricated with protective cover
layers on one, both or neither side of the
completed circuit but are most commonly
produced with the protective layer on both
sides
• Its easier to make cross over connection
• Many single sided circuits are built on a
double sided substrate just because they
have one of two crossover connections
 Multilayer flex circuits
• More layers of conductors
• The layers are interconnected by means
of plated through holes
• It may or may not be continuously
laminated together throughout the
construction except area covered with
holes.
• This is accomplished by leaving
unbounded the areas where flexing or
bending is to occur.
 Rigid-flex circuits
• Hybrid connection of rigid and flexible
substrate.
• layers of a rigid flex are also normally
electrically interconnected by means
of plated through holes
• Rigid-flex boards are normally
multilayer structures, however two
metal layer constructions are used.
Polymer thick film flex circuits
• PTF are true printed circuits
• Printed onto a polymer base film
• Two or more metal layers can be
printed sequentially with insulating
layers printed between printed
conductor layers
• Wide range of low power
applications at slightly higher
voltage.
• Application are keyboards.
Flexible circuit materials

• Base material

• Bonding adhesive

• Metal foil
Application

• Flexible and folding electronic

device (such as smartphones)
• Flexible solar cells which are
lightweight, can be rolled up for
launch, and are easily
deployable
• Organic light emitting diodes
(OLEDs)
• Used to interconnect electronic
components such as integrated
circuits, resistor, capacitors