Stress-adaptive meander track for stretchable electronics. (8th August 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Biswas, Shantonu; Reiprich, Johannes; Pezoldt, Joerg; Hein, Matthias; Stauden, Thomas; Jacobs, Heiko O
• Is Part Of: Flexible and printed electronics. Volume 3:Number 3(2018)
• Publication Date: 2018-08-08
• Subjects: stretchable electronics -- stretchable interconnect -- meander metal track -- stress-adaptive metal track -- metal track design -- stress analysis; Flexible electronics -- Periodicals; Printed electronics -- Periodicals; Flexible electronics; Printed electronics; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 621.381
• DOI: 10.1088/2058-8585/aad583
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2058-8585

Abstract

Abstract: Stretchable metallic interconnects are commonly designed using a meander-shaped metal track with a uniform width. This article reports on a ' stress-adaptive ' metal track design which varies in width to accommodate the produced torque in the metal track during stretching. The stress-adaptive design is inspired by computational and experimental studies of two conventional meander-shape metal tracks identifying a common failure mode; specifically, the propagation of torque leading to twist and mechanical fatigue. The understanding gained led to the stress-adaptive design. The stress-adaptive structure is compared with horseshoe- and U-shaped references and shows improvements in the stress distribution, levels of twist, maximum level of elongation (>320%), and required stretch and release cycles (>6000 at 150% elongation) to cause failure in a long term cycling test.