Process Development for Fabrication of Copper Additive-Multilayer Circuits with Component Attachment using ECA and LTS

Abstract

The increased versatility in the design and production of low-volume components, as well as the shorter time between design and prototype, has intensified interest in the subject of additively printed electronics. The continuous attempts to miniaturize traditional forms in terms of both size and weight are a reason why flexible electronics will emerge as a modern alternative in the technical industry. Direct printing on a range of substrates, whether rigid, flexible, or conformable, offers numerous advantages over traditional electronics production processes. Furthermore, the increasing complexity of flexible electronics demands the creation of multilayered circuits comparable to classic PCBs in order to reduce the volumetric and gravimetric influence of the underlying electronics. The majority of commercial PCBs have many component attachments using solder and multilayer functionality. There is a paucity of information on component attachment for flexible electronics applications that integrate multilayer functional qualities employing electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) and low-temperature solder (LTS). In this paper, we used OrCAD software to design and analyze an LED flashing circuit in order to imitate the applications of the Rigid PCBs. We investigated the influence of photonic curing over multiple passes on the mechanical and electrical properties of printed electronics utilizing a microdispensing unit during the multilayer development process. Capacitors, resistors, inductors, diodes, and Op-Amps are examples of components attached utilizing electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) and low-temperature solder (LTS). We will also examine the circuit performance for the two binding materials in order to make a solid application-based material decision.