Presentation on
Flexible Electronics
PR ESENTED BY
SOURABH KUMAR
13ECIEC008
B .T E C H , E C , V I I I S E M
C I T M C O L L E G E S I TA P U R A
 Outline:
•  Introduction to Flexible Electronics
•  Technologies and Integration Processes
•  Fabrication Technology
•  Flexible circuit board
•  Flexible electronic components
•  Manufacturing of flexible circuits & device
•  Material and thickness
•  Market Growth
•  Applications
•  Advantages and disadvantages
•  Reference & Conclusion
 Introduction to Flexible Electronics

• Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits, is a technology for assembling

electronic circuits by mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic substrates.
•  FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS can actually be defined as the electronic devices which
can be bent and stretched into any shape at any time.
 Flexible Electronics
A generic large-area electronic structure is composed of :

Substrate
Back-plane
Front-plane
Encapsulation
 TECHNOLOGIES AND INTEGRATION PROCESSES
Any manufacturable device has four essential characteristics:

Superior and pre-specified performance, with reproducibility,

uniformity, and reliability
High yield to acceptable tolerance
Simulations exist for both reverse engineering during development
and right-first-time design
Proven adequate in-service lifetime.
 FABRICATION TECHNOLOGY FOR
FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS

Fabrication on sheets by Batch Processing..

On a rigid carrier, facing up and loose;
In a tensioning frame, facing up or down;
In a frame, facing down and loose

Fabrication On Web by roll-to-roll Processing

Additive Printing
Flexible Circuit boards

Flex circuits are made up of

flexible plastic substrate
usually polyimide, Polyester or
thin sheets of glass
Flexible electronic components
Electronic components such as transistors are
being made from silicon nanomembrane usually called
TFT’s(thin film transistors).

Flexible resistors & capacitors structures are

shown diagrammatically usually called thin flim resistors
and thin flim capacitors
Resistor Capacitor
Lithium-ion Non volatile
flexible battery Memories
Flexible Displays
Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are normally
used instead of a back-light for flexible displays.
Manufacturing of flexible circuits & devices
For the manufacturing of flexible electronics “Roll
to Roll”  (R2R) processing inkjet printing and soft
lithography process is used.

Steps of R2R processing

Layers materials and their thickness
Base material or 1.Flexible polymer 12-125 µm
substrate
flim
2. Polyethylene
terephthalate
3. Thin glass sheet
Conductive 1. Copper foil 200 nm
path 2. Polyester
3. Graphene
Market Growth
• The market for flexible, printed, and organic large-area
electronics is rapidly growing. Currently estimated at over
$200M, the global market is expected to increase to a $800M
market by 2020.
 Applications
Automotive field. Space crafts. Foldable displays.

Military. Electronics Devices. Health Care

Displays and Human- machine interaction

Energy management and mobile devices Flexible solar cells

Wireless systems

Electronics Embedded in the living environment

Flexible outwears
Flexible Electronic products
Stretchable Lithium ion battery

Developed by University of llinois at Urbana

Flexible Devices
 A D VA N TA G E S D I S A D VA N TA G E S

light weight Initial investment may be

Smaller dimensions required expensive
Integration of components would
Space saving
be challenge for engineers
Foldable and bendable
Precision machines required
Increased circuitry density
Lifetime
Wide Viewing Angle
Manufacturing
 Conclusion
Flexible electronics in future will play a part in
field of security, entertainment and may lead to
innovative applications

The demand for flexible electronic products

at present may not be noticed but upto 2020 there
would be huge demand and preference will be given to
the flexible products in market
References
• [1] www.wikkipedia.org.in/flexibleelectronics

• [2] "Printed Circuit Techniques" by Cledo Brunetti and Roger W. Curtis (National
Bureau of Standards Circular 468 first issued 15 November 1947)

• [3] Gleskova, H., Wagner, S., Gasˇpar k, V. & Kova´cˇ, P. 150uC Amorphous
Silicon thin-Film Transistor technology for Polyimide Substrates. J.Electrochem.
Soc.148, G370-G374 (2001)

• [4] Cotema, coating machinery GmbH www.cotema.de