OBJECTIVE

WHAT IS FLEXIBLE ELECTRONICS HISTORY Flexible circuit structures Flexible circuit materials Applications

DEFINITION AND 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 In computer peripherals flexible circuits are used on the moving print head of printer