Mechanical and Electrical Properties of Additively Printed Circuits With Magnetically Orientated Anisotropic Conductive Adhesive Attachment for FHE Applications

Abstract

Developing component attachment techniques with low-temperature processing is required to implement flexible hybrid electronics utilizing additively printed circuits. Additive electronics may be made on several substrates such as Polyimide, PET, and PEN. While polyimide may be processed at standard reflow temperatures, thermally stabilized PET and PEN require a peak processing temperature of less than 150 °C. A variety of novel solder materials have emerged that can be worked at temperatures lower than 150 degrees Celsius. The low temperature also provides the added benefits of less warpage, less energy use, and a reduced carbon footprint. The process-performance-reliability relationships for the printed magnetically oriented conductive adhesive on the printed conductive metallization have been investigated in this work. Young’s modulus of the bonding material has been evaluated using the nanoindentation technique. Characterization of the frequency-performance of surface mount component attachments on additively printed metallization was used to study electrical and mechanical performance. The performance of the interconnects was compared to the COTS predefined tolerance limits. In flex-to-install applications, the reliability and performance deterioration of additively printed circuits have been measured. The interconnection reliability is also tested for dynamic flexing conditions for cycles to failure. Optical imaging has also been used to investigate the intermetallics at the interface of conductive adhesive and additively printed circuits.