Towards Sub‐Microscale Liquid Metal Patterns: Cascade Phase Change Mediated Pick‐n‐Place Transfer of Liquid Metals Printed and Stretched over a Flexible Substrate

Kim, Doyoon; Yoon, Young-Jin; Kauh, Sang Ken; Lee, Jungchul

doi:10.1002/adfm.201800380

Cited by 51 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 58 publications

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“…It is also important to maintain the distance between the tip and the substrate to obtain a uniform liquid metal pattern. To this end, the distance feedback control is first demonstrated with a motorized XYZ-stage to print linear patterns along one direction on elastomeric substrates [10]. With the aid of the nozzle tip-substrate distance control, EGaIn can be patterned reliably even the patterning substrate is locally irregular.…”

Section: Various Patterning Methods For Liquid Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, solid-state metallic nanowires show irreversible conductivity recovery when they are relaxed from large strains and show hysteresis in repeated cycles [1,2,3,4]. While the meander [5], serpentine [6,7,8], or kirigami [9] structures, which are made of thin metallic conductors, improve the strain range up to 300% [8], they have a limited operating range and cannot withstand more extreme strain [10]. Since form factors of computing and communication devices are now rapidly changing from portable to wearable, it is very important to look for and study materials ideal for such a new trend.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Soft and Deformable Sensors Based on Liquid Metals

Kim

Lee

et al. 2019

Sensors

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Liquid metals are one of the most interesting and promising materials due to their electrical, fluidic, and thermophysical properties. With the aid of their exceptional deformable natures, liquid metals are now considered to be electrically conductive materials for sensors and actuators, major constituent transducers in soft robotics, that can experience and withstand significant levels of mechanical deformation. For the upcoming era of wearable electronics and soft robotics, we would like to offer an up-to-date overview of liquid metal-based soft (thus significantly deformable) sensors mainly but not limited to researchers in relevant fields. This paper will thoroughly highlight and critically review recent literature on design, fabrication, characterization, and application of liquid metal devices and suggest scientific and engineering routes towards liquid metal sensing devices of tomorrow.

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Section: Various Patterning Methods For Liquid Metalsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft and Deformable Sensors Based on Liquid Metals

Kim

Lee

et al. 2019

Sensors

Self Cite

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“…By freezing the pattern in the extended state, and then transferring the pattern to an unstretched substrate, the resulting line is smaller in width than the initial pattern. [67] Though this can be useful to pattern very fine features, it represents an additional processing step and transferring features to desired locations requires alignment. Nevertheless, this process can be repeated multiple times to reduce a 120 µm feature down to 2 µm.…”

Section: Postprinting Modificationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Liquid Metal Direct Write and 3D Printing: A Review

Neumann

Dickey

2020

Adv Materials Technologies

226

170

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This review discusses methods, challenges, and opportunities for direct‐write and 3D printing of low melting point, gallium‐based liquid metal alloys at room temperature. Alloys of gallium exhibit high conductivity and high stretchability making them well suited for use in soft circuitry for stretchable electronics and soft robotics. In addition, the liquid nature of the metal enables entirely new ways to pattern metals at room temperature; herein, the focus is placed on additive printing via nozzle‐based methods. Room temperature printing of liquid metals enables rapid fabrication of complex geometries (with dimensions as small as 10 µm) on a wide range of materials, such as polymers. These processes can be used to make metallic conductors for devices with self‐healing capabilities, soft/stretchable electrodes, and sensors.

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“…As such, soft and stretchable electronics could have a transformative impact in wearable technologies for personal computing and healthcare, [1] implantable electronics, [2] and soft robotics. The prevailing techniques include injection of LMs into previously fabricated channels with [14,15] or without [16][17][18][19][20] vacuum assistance; direct laser patterning; [21][22][23] reductive patterning; [24,25] direct writing; [26][27][28][29][30] inkjet, [31,32] in-bath, [33] and freeze-printing; [34] and stencil printing. [1,2] One of the leading approaches to realize soft and stretchable electronic circuits involves embedding gallium-based liquid metal (LM) alloy traces at desired spatial locations within an elastomer body.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2019,29, 1906551 Surface functionalization of the stamps enables loading only the raised regions of the stamp.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft Electronics Manufacturing Using Microcontact Printing

Yalcintas

Özütemiz

Cetinkaya

et al. 2019

Adv Funct Materials

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This work describes a microcontact printing (µCP) process for reproducible manufacturing of liquid gallium alloy-based soft and stretchable electronics. One of the leading approaches to create soft and stretchable electronics involves embedding liquid metals (LM) into an elastomer matrix. Although the advantages of liquid metal-based electronics have been well established, their mainstream adoption and commercialization necessitates development of precise and scalable manufacturing methods. To address this need, a scalable µCP process is presented that uses surface-functionalized, reusable rigid, or deformable stamps to transfer eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) patterns onto elastomer substrates. A novel approach is developed to create the surfacefunctionalized stamps, enabling selective transfer of LM to desired locations on a substrate without residues or electrical shorts. To address the critical needs of precise and reproducible positioning, alignment, and stamping force application, a high-precision automated µCP system is designed. After describing the approach, the precision of stamps is evaluated and EGaIn features (as small as 15 µm line width), as well as electrical functionality of printed circuits with and without deformation, are fabricated. The presented process addresses many of the limitations associated with the alternative fabrication processes, and thus provides an effective approach for scalable fabrication of LM-based soft and stretchable microelectronics.tissue damage, and impairment of natural motion, thereby providing increased robustness, safety, mechanical conformability, and compliance matching with biological tissues. As such, soft and stretchable electronics could have a transformative impact in wearable technologies for personal computing and healthcare, [1] implantable electronics, [2] and soft robotics. [3,4] In recent years, many different types of soft and stretchable electronics have been developed, as outlined in two recent review papers. [1,2] One of the leading approaches to realize soft and stretchable electronic circuits involves embedding gallium-based liquid metal (LM) alloy traces at desired spatial locations within an elastomer body. [5,6] Specifically, the binary alloy of eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn: 75 wt% Ga and 25 wt% of In) and the ternary alloy of gallium-indium-tin (Galinstan) are both liquid at room temperature: they flow freely with negligible resistance (viscosity of EGaIn is about 1.9 mPa s [7] ) and accommodate changes in channel shapes, thereby maintaining electrical circuit functionality without failure even at large strains (>100%). The electrical conductivity of gallium-based liquid metal alloys (3.4 × 10 6 S m −1 for EGaIn, [8] which is about 1/16th of copper) is orders of magnitude higher than ionic liquids and conductive elastomers. These alloys are of low toxicity [9] and have very low vapor pressure, [8] making them ideal for wearable computing and health care applications.Uniquely, when exposed to even low levels of oxygen, a few nanometer thick,...

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Towards Sub‐Microscale Liquid Metal Patterns: Cascade Phase Change Mediated Pick‐n‐Place Transfer of Liquid Metals Printed and Stretched over a Flexible Substrate

Cited by 51 publications

References 58 publications

Soft and Deformable Sensors Based on Liquid Metals

Soft and Deformable Sensors Based on Liquid Metals

Liquid Metal Direct Write and 3D Printing: A Review

Soft Electronics Manufacturing Using Microcontact Printing

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