Revolutionary new capabilities for monitoring physical health of humans, machinery, and the processes governing the climate and condition of our entire planet are currently in development. Low cost flexible electronic devices play a critical role in these endeavors. This course will trace the evolution of reliable, large-area, flexible electronics and associated technologies, and will cover fabrication approaches such as chip attachment, thin-film devices, and nanoscale self-assembled and printed device based coatings. Additionally, fundamentals of state of the art fabrication techniques including vapor phase processing and direct fabrication approaches such as printing with aerosols and particle-based inks featuring advanced electronic materials to enable flexible electronic devices will be presented.
Topical Outline:
- Flexible electronics overview
- General concepts
- Applications
- Evolution of synthesis and fabrication methods optimized for flexible electronics
- Flexible Silicon
- Organic electronics
- Ultra-thin, or 2D materials
- Synthesis and processing methods for flexible electronics
- Substrate considerations and preparation
- Vapor phase processing
- Printing
- Photonic annealing
- Mechanical and electronic properties of flexible electronic devices
- Limitations on flex – performance vs. strain
- Lifetime dependence on strain
- Characterization and device integration
- State of the art approaches for flex characterization
- Challenges unique to flexible platforms
- The future of flex
- Performance potential
- Market/application projections