What steps can be taken to improve flexible electronics and reduce the cracking of modern flexible electronics? This is what a recent study published in npj Flexible Electronics hopes to address as a team of researchers investigated the processes responsible for cracks forming in flexible electronics and how to mitigate them. This study has the potential to help scientists, engineers, and the public better understand new methods for developing more durable flexible electronics, thus saving money and time.
For the study, the researchers first examined the causes and damage extent regarding cracks in flexible electronics. They found that cracks in the ceramic outer layer are much deeper than previously thought, resulting in more extensive damage that builds up over time within the underlying substrate. The team hypothesized that the elasticity differences between the ceramic and substrate layers were a potential cause of the deeper cracks. In the end, the researchers found that adding an additional layer between the two present layers reduces the elasticity variances.
Microscopic image of a crack within the ceramic layer of a flexible electronic device. (Credit: Padture Lab / Brown University)
“We created a design map that identified hundreds of polymers that, with the correct thickness, could potentially mitigate this elastic mismatch and prevent cracking in a wide range of electrode-substrate combinations,” said Dr. Nitin Padture, who is a professor of engineering at Brown University and a co-author on the study. “Using this design map, we were able to choose a specific polymer for the third layer and experimentally demonstrate the feasibility of our approach.”
This study comes as flexible electronics continue to make headways across a myriad of industries, with applications including wearable devices, consumer electronics, medical devices, smart textiles, and the automotive and aerospace industries. Therefore, studies like this could help introduce new design possibilities while enhancing portability and convenience.
How will this new method help enhance flexible electronics in the coming years and decades? Only time will tell, and this is why we science!
As always, keep doing science & keep looking up!
Sources: npj Flexible Electronics, EurekAlert!