An overview of the Flexible Electronics

2. CONTENTS
•INTRODUCTION
•What are Flexible Electronics??...
•FE Printing
•Victims of success..
•Applications
•Conventional Vs FE…
•Limitations and scope

3. INTRODUCTION
•It is a branch of material science and engineering
•Made of innately bendy materials such as graphene
•Status: Research Development
•Technical Innovation in the field of modern technology
•Reduces costs and roll able electronics are more convenient
•OLED’S ..OPY’S..Consumer Electronics
•Have the potential to replace traditional
rigid substrates in many areas….

4. What are FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS ??....
Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits is
a technology for assembling electronic circuits by
mounting electronic devices on flexible plastic
substrates such as polymide or transparent
conductive polyester.
FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS can actually be
defined as the electronic devices which can be
bent and stretched into any shape at any time..

5. •For manufacturing FE silicon needs to be bent and stretched..and yes this is
possible
•Si is first made thin enough to be mechanically flexible… then two methods are
used to make it flexible and stretchable
1. Silicon island approach
•Circuit is separated into isolated tiny squares and
connected with thin connectors..
•When it is stretched the strain is contained in the connectors
and hence the circuit doesn't break…
2.Buckling mechanics
•Very thin strips of silicon are bonded to a pre stretched rubber like surface
•When the substrate relaxes silicon buckles but doesn't break…and hence can be
stretched..
•The strain is accommodated by forming a wavy configuration…
FE-Printing

6. •Understanding why conventional electronics are victims of
their own success.
•Modern silicon transistors integrate billions of transistors.
•Squeezing many transistors in a single location enables
them to handle complex problems.
Victims of success

7. Medicine….
Consumer Electronics…
Military…
Manufacturing….Applications

8. Flexible Displays
Which can be rolled, light weight ,rugged....
First flexible display concept of electronic paper
( e-paper) was put forth by XEROX PARC
Shift from amorphous silicon to amorphous oxide and
IGZO semiconductors
Some concept devices include…Mobile Phones, Curved
OLED TVs…
Samsung galaxy round and LG G flex ... Latest curved
displays in town...
Rolling Up.... Cheaper and better performing electronics.

9. FOLED!!...
•Stands for “Flexible organic light-emitting diode”..
•This enables the device to be bent or rolled while still operating.
•Fabricated by deposition of the organic layer onto the substrate using a method
derived from inkjet printing
•May be used in the production of rollable displays or bendable displays and
electronic paper.
•Disadvantages…
1. Stress
2. Encapsulation..

10. Tagged: Flexible Electronics
Colored plastic doubles solar power…
A printing process to make wall sized displays…
Speeding up Materials design…
An Eye-Ball Camera..Now with zoom…
Bendable memory made from Nano Wire Transistors…
Big energy storage in thin films…

11. •FE would be immensely useful in the field of medicine
• Arrays of electrodes can be put-on the surface of the
brain to pinpoint the source of epileptic seizures
•A device like this would completely open up new avenues
in all of neuroscience and clinical applications
•They say circuits inside the mouth could help people with
speech difficulties
•Ultra-sensitive "smart" skin can collect information about
the body and environment
•Can help Paraplegics Walk
•New flexible electronics can better chart the heart’s
electrical activity

12. Conventional Electronics Vs Flexible Electronics
Throughput
Weight
Robustness
Production
Development
0.1m2/s
Comparatively
heavier
Rigid and Brittle
Long production run
Ubiquitous
60m2/s, nearly 600
times faster.
Significantly reduced
Flexible, durable,
and shock-resistant
Short production run
Not fully
commercialized

13. Limitations and scope
Initial investment may be high…
Integration of components and precision machines may be a
challenge…
Status: Research…Yet to be commercialized….
Promise of flexible electronics…
1. Evolutionary improvements over traditional electronics
2.Mid term applications— roll able paper , solar panels …
3.Long term applications—bio medical applications…