Flexible Hybrid Electronics via Near‐Infrared Radiation‐Assisted Soldering of Surface Mount Devices on Screen Printed Circuits

Abstract

The development of flexible hybrid electronics (FHEs) with high‐throughput integration of electrical components onto digitally printed circuits has a wide range of applications, such as asset tracking, wearable electronics, and structural health monitoring. However, one of the major challenges with FHEs is the process of soldering the electrical components onto a printed circuit while having minimal thermal damage to the printed traces and their temperature‐sensitive polymeric substrates. Here, the possibility of utilizing near‐infrared (NIR) technology as a nondestructive photonic approach for rapid soldering and mounting electrical components onto printed circuits while keeping the polymer substrate at a relatively low temperature during the soldering process is investigated. Results of this systematic study show that FHEs prepared with the optimized NIR processing conditions produce the desired reflow of solder with effective electrical connection and metallic bonding of electrical components onto the conductive traces with excellent mechanical stability (no failure even after 1000 cycles of bending). Furthermore, using this technique and as a proof of concept, the fabrication of a wearable FHE device that provides a remote assessment of the wound exudate absorption in dressings and notifies caregivers of the appropriate time to change the dressing is demonstrated.

Blood Oxygen and Heart Rate Monitoring by A Flexible Hybrid Electronics Device Fabricated by Multilayer Screen‐Printing

“…Furthermore, to avoid thermal damage to next‐generation ultrathin FHE device substrates, innovative integration methods should replace the currently used classical soldering of SMD components, utilizing for example nondestructive IR radiation. [ 48 ]…”

Smart capsule for monitoring inflammation profile throughout the gastrointestinal tract

“…Three printed circuit boards (PCB) (each of diameter 8 mm) were designed, manufactured, and assembled for interfacing the pH sensor and ORP sensor with a microcontroller unit (MCU) ( Fig. 2a(v) ) ( Kasi et al, 2023 ). Batteries of diameter 8 mm were integrated along with a normally closed reed switch for magnetic activation of the capsule ( Fig.…”

Progress in polyacrylate‐based electrically conductive adhesives: Featured properties, preparation, applications, and perspectives

“…Traditional connection technologies such as soldering, riveting and bolt fastening have dominated the interconnect field for many years, but cannot completely satisfy the accelerating need of environmental protection and lossless join. [1][2][3] Adhesion featuring light weight, high specific strength, and fast operation, is preferred, and increasingly developed for low-carbon bonding. 4,5 As a special kind of adhesives, electrically conductive adhesives (ECAs) can offer both a strong bonding effect as well as desirable electrical conductivity, 6,7 and therefore have significantly advanced in many conductive connection areas such as industrial plant joints, microelectronic packaging, and medical device adhesions.…”

“…Traditional connection technologies such as soldering, riveting and bolt fastening have dominated the interconnect field for many years, but cannot completely satisfy the accelerating need of environmental protection and lossless join 1–3 . Adhesion featuring light weight, high specific strength, and fast operation, is preferred, and increasingly developed for low‐carbon bonding 4,5 .…”