The Future of Electronics RESHAPED 2024 USA

Due to the lack of standardization for components often used in the development of soft systems, the system integration design role often requires a complex set of material decisions to be made, often with a lack of performance data, both in the textile and electrical domains. This results in a significantly longer time from idea to prototype to production product, and a commensurately heavier investment than the typical electronic system requires. To open the design space to soft systems, AFFOA is developing a library of fully tested components to augment the datasheets provided by the manufacturers, along with combining system integration techniques to these components to test their in-device performance.

In this talk I will present a few 3D Printed Electronics application use-cases taken from industry efforts to showcase the current landscape and technology capabilities. I hope to motivate what can be done today and the evolving state of 3D Printed Electronics through a number of practical examples taken from medical, industrial, and commercial areas.

Selective Surface Activation Induced by Laser (SSAIL) technology allows creating Cu traces on any dielectric material (organic, glass, ceramic, etc.). In first part of this talk we are presenting our results for high throughput 10-25 µm trace formation on FR4 and PET for PCB/FPC production. In the second part we discuss 1-25 µm traces on PI, EMC and glass for semiconductor packaging. This enables novel methods for PCB/FPC and semiconductor packaging avoiding chemical etching, masks and reducing power consumption and waste.

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The supply chain that delivers products and services to end consumers is constantly changing and is exposed to various risks such as diseases, counterfeit crimes, geopolitics, natural disasters, and economics. In order to solve these issues, it is important to visualize the end-to-end status of individual products from upstream to downstream, and to upgrade and optimize the SC based on the visualized data. One of the solutions is the realization of smart logistics and flexible sensors for understanding the status of individual products. Asahi Kasei has developed RFID labels with submicron resolution R2R electrode printing technology and a data platform using blockchain. In this presentation, we will introduce the submicron resolution R2R electrode printing technology and RFID labels, as well as the roadmap toward smart logistics and the data platform. 2. R2R electrode printing technology with submicron resolution The line width that can be achieved with existing printing processes are generally several tens of microns, and the most advanced ones are about 10 microns, but the line width of the process we have developed has an ultra-high resolution of about 250 nm. To achieve this, we developed in- house the three elements, those are conductive nano ink, submicron-resolution cylindrical mold (SRM), and the R2R high-definition printing process. The key element is the SRM, which is fabricated using a proprietary electron beam lithography process for cylindrical rollers. Furthermore, the unique R2R printing process incorporating this SRM achieves low-cost production through continuous printing. 3. RFID labels with guaranteed authenticity By using our technology, we develop an "authenticity-assured" RFID label. The label consists of submicron to several microns wide metal wires embedded with a special pattern to detect counterfeiters. The label is therefore designed to ensure the authenticity of the product to which it is affixed, while enabling RFID-based product identification and communication. In addition, the label can be attached to various products because it is transparent in appearance and does not interfere with the design. The RFID has a general dipole antenna shape, and the communication distance can be designed according to the required specifications, with a maximum distance of several meters. When read by the IoT edge device developed at the same time, it determines whether the label is manufactured by Asahi Kasei or not, and generates digitalized information with the product ID. 4. Roadmap We develop a platform configuration for digitizing label information attached to individual products and preventing tampering. Currently, only RFID labels with guaranteed authenticity are available, but in the future, flexible sensors with measurement functions for various physical quantities will be developed to create an infrastructure for the realization of smart logistics.

While the primary market for printed electronics has primarily been consumer goods, there is a place for printed electronics in the aerospace domain. The unique capabilities of printed electronics can enable new capabilities and features that haven’t been seen before. The road to technology adoption is challenging as technical requirements can be daunting. Boeing has shown that it is possible for printed electronics to enhance our products and meet the challenging requirements.

Brewer Science's vision is to design, build, and deploy connected gas and water sensors that monitor environmental contaminants quantitatively on a large scale. For the last 10 years, Brewer Science has developed the materials and technology to print cost-effective sensors that can measure contaminants in water, such as heavy metals (lead, cadmium), copper, calcium, magnesium, nitrate, pH, and ORP, as well as sensors that assess air quality by measuring gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen, VOCs, and oxygen. Brewer Science fabricates a variety of printable sensor materials and deposits them onto a substrate utilizing processes such as physical vapor deposition (PVD) sputtering, screen printing, stencil printing, ink-jet printing, spray coating, and high-speed jet dispensing. Producing low-cost sensors with low-power electronics and wireless communication will enable the deployment of sensors over vast areas for real-time monitoring of environmental conditions.

To enable this vision of building and distributing cost-effective environmental sensors, the electronics industry must accelerate the advancement of additively manufactured electronics (AME). Some of the biggest challenges in implementing AME technologies is the development of printable functional inks, especially electrically non-conductive materials. There have been decades of progress in conductive inks, driven by applications such as membrane switches, resistive heaters, RFID tags, photovoltaics, and RF antennas. The next wave of development will be in the creation of new printable materials such as low-loss dielectrics, porous membranes, ion selective membranes, optical materials, and environmental protection layers (encapsulants). Brewer Science is excited to be part of this future by leaning on its core strength as an innovative materials development and manufacturing company.

Over the past decade, there’s been tremendous advancements in soft and highly stretchable circuitry for use in epidermal electronics for health monitoring, wearable computing, and soft robotics. As these technologies continue to improve, there is increasing interest in new material architectures that allow for manufacturing scale-up, printability over large areas, and robust interfacing with surface-mounted microelectronics. One promising approach is to use metal alloys like eutectic gallium-indium (EGaIn) that are liquid at room temperature and which can be incorporated as microfluidic inclusions within a soft elastomer substrate. As the surrounding elastomers stretches, the fluidic inclusions can elongate and maintain electrical connectivity. Moreover because of their high electrical conductivity, EGaIn can support digital circuit functionality and potentially replace the rigid metallic interconnects that are used in current circuit boards. In this talk, I will present several approaches for using EGaIn as electrical interconnects and conductive inks for stretchable electronics. This includes efforts to create circuits composed of microfluidic channels of liquid metal that directly interface with the pins of packaged microelectronic chips. I will also present recent efforts to combine EGaIn and soft elastomers to create composite materials composed of percolating networks of microscale EGaIn droplets (along with other metallic particles) within a soft elastomer matrix. Soft polymers blended with liquid metal exhibit unique combinations of high electrical or thermal conductivity, high stretchability, and low elastic stiffness. In particular, I will show how these composites can be formulated to function as printable conductive inks and thermal interface materials. Applications include soft printed circuits that maintain stable electrical resistance under strain, elastic transducers capable of sensing and actuation, and thermal interface materials for high performance computing.

Bio: Carmel Majidi is the Clarence H. Adamson Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Carnegie Mellon University, where he leads the Soft Machines Lab. His research group develops novel material architectures that allow machines and electronics to be soft, elastically deformable, and biomechanically compatible. This includes research with liquid metal and shape memory materials for creating “artificial” skin, nervous tissue, and muscle for applications in soft robotics and wearable computing. Prof. Majidi has received Young Investigator awards from DARPA, ONR, AFOSR, and NASA, is an author on >200 journal publications, has 28 issued patents, and is co-founder of several spin-off companies.

The author describes the process of scaling up coating and drying technologies for the indirect or direct coating of platin catalyst on the membrane or to the gas diffusion layer.A state-of-the-art coating tech like slot die is being explained and the next tech development for digital fabrication of PEM fuel cells using a LIFT technology and laser drying are being explained. As a summary, the author shows how important standardization and inline quality controls are for further development stages of PEM fuel cells.

CondAlign’s range of adhesive ACFs for low-temperature, low-pressure bonding of electronics components is well suited for the Flexible and Hybrid Electronics (FHE) area. These products offer electrical and mechanical bonding of components to flexible (and rigid) substrates at room temperature with no heat or other post curing required. With a typical bonding pressure of ca 0,1 – 0,3 MPa, instant functionality is immediately achieved.These adhesive ACFs contain a pressure sensitive adhesive material comprising conductive particles. The particles are aligned in z-direction with the patented technology, creating an anisotropic conductive film. The process is well suited for continuous roll-to-roll production and is implemented in CondAlign’s coating line. The alignment allows for significantly reduced use of particles (while still maintaining good electrical conductivity in Z-direction), which again leads to a) reduced material cost compared to traditional ECAs, b) retaining the initial polymer properties very well (adhesiveness, softness, flexibility, transparency etc),and c) reduced environmental impact through reduced particle content, as well as reduced energy consumption in the bonding process. The reduced environmental impact is documented by an independent part (CEMAsys), which shows a considerable reduction in CO2 emission, compared to two traditional processes: Reflow soldering, and bonding with silver filled epoxy. Extensive in-house and customer tests have been performed, regarding temperature cycling and humidity stability, in-plane and through-plane resistance, mechanical stress, capacity to lead current, adhesiveness etc.

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BIO:
Mark A. Duarte is the Director of Medical Sales at East West Mfg., a leader in the design and manufacturing of wearable medical patches and electrodes. Mark has over 20 years of sales and business development management, product design, project/account management in the printed electronics industry for Body Worn
Medical and Consumer Patches, Screen-Printed Electrodes and Human-Machine Interface (HMI) applications.

Mark has been the leading influence in East West presence for the design and manufacturing of wearable disposable medical patches and electrodes for applications such as diagnostics, monitoring, drug delivery and stimulation. Mark received his education in Advanced Communication Electronics from the United States
Navy.

Many flexible heater products are produced using printing techniques. In all cases, each mass-produced heater is a replicate of the last, making their manufacture well suited for “analog” print manufacturing, such as flexography. The use of high-resolution printing enables the additive manufacturing of custom heater designs – whether they be transparent or have other unique design features. These heaters can be built from “all-ink” materials or from copper micro-wires for additional transparency and function. This talk will provide an overview of the requirements for different heater applications and how these requirements can be achieved with high-resolution flexographic processes. Examples and data will be shared from lab-scale and production scale evaluations.

Direct printing of power modules using advanced 3D metal printing and screen printing

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Energy Materials Corporation (EMC) is scaling up to manufacture Perovskite solar panels for multi-GW/year production volumes using high speed roll-to-roll equipment. The methodology of EMC’s commercialization approach is described, including the steps to go from lab scale inks and methods to high-speed prototype demonstrations and culminating with full scale production of finished panels. The challenges and equipment for all stages of the commercialization process are reviewed. EMC’s projected cost per Watt for manufacturing perovskite solar cells at the GW-scale is shown to be a fraction of the best-case projections for Silicon solar cells, which enables local manufacturing in regions with high energy and labor costs.

Mass customization & mass production of Smart Sensors
As we specialize in delivering end-to-end solutions for smart sensors and electronics, from initial development to final manufacturing, we will highlight in this presentation how it is possible to enable the mass production of smart sensing elements in record time. We will present our strategy to go toward mass customization and give examples for e-mobility & renewable energy storage, military, automotive and logistic applications.

About the author
Jean-Charles Flores is a creative technologist with passion for innovation and a gift for connecting people, ideas and technologies. He started his industrial carrier at Ciba and then BASF where he worked as scientist, technologist and program manager for more than a decade. In 2019, he founded anthos iD_ and in 2023, co-founded Flexoo where his mission is to stir the tremendous creative power of Flexoo’s team into developing always smarter sensors that seamlessly integrate into our daily life. Jean-Charles holds a PhD in Material Sciences and an Engineering degree from the National Chemistry School of Montpellier.

About the company
Flexoo, based in Heidelberg, Germany, is a leading provider of printed electronics and sensors, dedicated to driving innovation and delivering high value to its customers. A unique manufacturing setup, characterized by flexibility, quality, and unparalleled productivity, sets the company apart as the ideal partner for mass production of smart sensors and electronics.

Additive Electronics manufacturing is employed at GE Aerospace as an enabler for
devices and systems in the areas of harsh environment sensing, electronics packaging, power electronics, and structural health monitoring (SHM), as well as telecommunication systems and soft robotics. The possibility of using direct-write printing to fabricate conformal devices on non-planar aerospace surfaces using innovative materials and inks is the focus of our printed electronics team. In this talk, we will present the latest developments on the use of high-resolution 3D printed ceramics and micro-dispensing and aerosol jet printing for the fabrication of embedded electronics packaging for radiofrequency (RF) devices. The manufacturing of a multilayer circuit with a 4 x 4 array of low-noise amplifier (LNA) RF chips embedded in alumina will be described. This will include details on material selection and process development for conductive via, dielectric moat ramp and printed RF interconnects fabrication. In conclusion,the performance of a unit cell in the array will be presented to demonstrate the viability of using printed materials and methods for 3D packaging RF devices.

Sustainability has become one of essential part of a product life cycle and biomedical industry is not an exception rather it is one of major industry using wide ranges of single use medical products. Addressing sustainability of these products is important especially due to their biohazard nature and sanitation issues. This presentation will cover ongoing effort to address cost and sustainability issues of single use devices through use of Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) manufacturing, evaluation of novel materials usage, introduction of environmentally conscious design practices, and life cycle assessment methodologies. Examples of two additively manufactured demonstrators: single-use vital sign monitor system (SUVSM) and single-use ECG leads (SUEL) will be discussed showing feasibility and benefits of FHE manufacturing approach.

2022 healthcare spending in the U.S. alone was $4.5 trillion and grew at an annual rate of 5.3% between 2017 and 2022. The sheer size of the market provides a major opportunity for suppliers at all points of the value chain, especially if they have enabling technology that facilitates the megatrends surrounding healthcare. These drivers include: A rapidly growing elderly population due to increased life expectancy. Technology advancement is growing at the rate of Moore’s law, driven by device miniaturization. The availability of huge data, driving the use of artificial intelligence and data analytics. An increasing focus on cost reduction. A tightening labor market, which has led to staff shortages, especially for nurses. A stringent regulatory environment, which slows approval of new products. An increased awareness of health and fitness by consumers, leading to wider adoption of wearables. These drivers have resulted in a rapid shift in point of care from the provider to ambulatory, home, and virtual care options. Also, the increasing availability of low-cost portable and wearable sensors facilitates the shift to remote points of care.For decades, functional electronic inks have proven to be a dependable, cost-efficient and energy efficient technology for highly reliable electronic circuitry and components, especially for medical devices. One of the main advantages over other processes is that functional electronic inks use an additive process, whereas the various conductor, resistor, and dielectric pastes are screen-printed or deposited by other means, then cured or fired in succession to form the circuit or electrode. This reduces waste. Also, most functional electronic inks have been developed without toxic substances subject and are RoHS and REACH compliant. Screens are relatively easy to manufacture and allow for flexibility in circuit design. Screen printing technology is capable of feature sizes from hundreds of microns down to 30 microns or less. The continuing drive to print smaller and thinner features enables device miniaturization. Functional electronic inks may be tailored for new form factors such as 3D, flexible, and stretchable substrates. These unique advantages make functional electronic inks the technology of choice for medical device electronics and medical sensors.In this presentation, we will summarize how functional electronic inks enable current and future devices that directly address the trends in the healthcare industry. Heraeus Electronics, with its extensive portfolio of functional electronic inks and pastes and matched systems is in a prime position to support these advancements.

Over the years, electronics and its components have continuously developed towards a higher density, but largely in the same rigid flat form factor of PCBs. To achieve higher density electronics in complex 3D arrangements, TNO at Holst Centre has developed a multi-material additive manufacturing process named “3D additive lithography for electronics” (3D-ALE). With this fabrication process a scanning DMD-based light engine is used to pattern photopolymers down to 10 um structures. Within the patterned photopolymer cavities are designed for component placement (particularly suitable for bare-die components) and tracks for metal paste filling to fabricate the circuitry. Continuous successive layer-by-layer build-up allows for complex high-density electronics in 3D structural embodiments.

The future is being shaped by the rapid advancement of microelectronics. However, the design and manufacturing of these intricate components pose significant challenges due to their small size and complex assembly process. To overcome these obstacles, Hummink offers an innovative solution called HPCAP (High-Precision Capillary Printing) technology. This cutting-edge technology allows for the direct deposition of materials at both the micron and sub-micron scales using any type of material and on any substrates. By utilizing Hummink's AFM (Atomic Force Microscopy) based technology, the complex additive manufacturing process for microelectronics is streamlined into a single-step procedure. In this presentation, we will explain the HPACP technology and its vital role in breaking the trade-off between miniaturization and complexity at the microscale. We will also showcase its wide-ranging uses in semiconductor packaging, display technology, biosensors, waveguides, and more.

As the printed electronics industry evolves towards customization and rapid prototyping, the demand for high productivity in small series printing becomes crucial. This presentation delves into the key capabilities and technical solutions of the most advanced screen printing equipment, exploring their contribution to elevated efficiency in screen printing for smaller production runs. Discover innovative approaches to traditional screen printing, optimized workflows, and the integration of the latest technologies, collectively contributing to a significant transformation in the field of flexible electronics manufacturing.

The need for high volume flexible, functional devices for sensor, energy, optical, biomedical, and aerospace applications requires the ability to integrate new product and process controls into roll-to-roll solutions for vacuum coating. Key factors in equipment selection include powerful automation, modular equipment design, deposition source technology, power supply selection, substrate handling e.g. transport, temperature, surface treatment and in-situ monitoring, are all critical for providing solutions for the production of flexible devices. Modern flexible electronic sensors can be manufactured from coated thin films using laser patterning of the vacuum deposited layers. This technique can also be used to control surface morphology of individual layers to provide functionalities catered to the end use. The ability to provide unique comprehensive solutions for all these requirements in a single R2R vacuum web coating system is driving production of the next generation of light-weight flexible devices with high yield and the best performance for high volume production.

In this session, ImageXpert will discuss new technologies for the development of printed electronics. These tools allow you to build a better understanding of your inkjet process, improve performance, and accelerate your rate of development. We will explore the latest analysis tools, from new dropwatching technologies to smarter inspection tools.

The NanoJet Gen2 Aerosol Printhead (Gen2) introduces critical advancements in industrial aerosol printing, enhancing print stability, efficiency, and versatility. Key innovations include a new baffle design allowing for increased output with less aerosol volatility, quick-swap ink cartridges for minimal downtime, and user-friendly operation with improved process controls. Features such as recipe logging, internal self-testing, and comprehensive data logging enhance operational insights, while print head temperature control and fast shuttering capabilities (<150ms) optimize ink usage and improve print quality. Designed for compatibility with a wide range of inks and for ease of maintenance, the Gen2 printhead significantly reduces the total cost of ownership. This production focused printhead represents a leap forward in meeting the dynamic needs of modern industrial processes, setting a new benchmark for performance and reliability in the industry.This talk will present the print stability and performance data for the Gen2 print head.

Inteva is developing smart surface technology which enables functional features in areas that were once just decorative automotive trim. Portions of the lighting and electronics are embedded into the trim layers, while others are packaged behind the substrate. The technical challenges include material compatibility for bonding methods, appearance, softness, distinction of image, touch sensitivity, hidden front functionality, packaging space, connection, and others. While allocating these electronics in this new space has created a need for new business relationship These considerations are discussed along with Inteva’s approach.Jeremy Husic has over 25 years working in the auto industry. After graduating from Kettering University with electrical & mechanical engineering degrees, he started at Delphi Automotive. He later moved to in-mold electronics start-ups and finally Inteva Products. His career has taken him from structural analysis to mechatronics to in-mold & embedded electronics. He is credited with four patents with a few more in the works. Jeremy is currently a staff engineer focused on integrating electronics into automotive trim and supporting electronics within Inteva. He is a member of a team that started down the path of Smart Automotive Surfaces a few years ago. Since then, Inteva has developed a strong portfolio of Soft Smart Surface products for automotive trim.

Electronics and display industry applications push the limits of inkjet printing in terms of accuracy and volume control. It’s one thing to meet these objectives in a laboratory environment, but an entirely different experience to scale to production. Materials in use such as optical light emitting diodes, quantum dots, and numerous encapsulants create a challenging environment for inkjet nozzle reliability and performance.Drop placement correction is one core technology to maintain high quality printing. Used in tandem with highly reliable printing equipment and world class printing algorithms, high accuracy can be achieved in applications ranging from multi thickness layer printing to discrete pixel printing.

Application of micro-LEDs in a wide range of products is expected and with the ever-increasing trend towards miniaturization, very small and precisely placed print is a requirement. This presentation will examine the smallest diameter bump that can be accurately produced with gravure offset.Current bonding techniques using ACF can be improved by moving to solder paste bonding which is expected. Solder paste itself works very well with gravure offset with the main requirement of small, precise solder bumps.Within the process of gravure offset printing creating and maintaining the minimum possible bump size is determined by two main variables and the presentation examines those variables and reveals the smallest possible bump diameter that can be created using gravure offset and solder paste.

The need for wireless electronics is continuously increasing. But the potential market growth of wireless electronics is limited by their need for power. We believe in a clear movement towards cost efficient, extremely thin and self-powered systems - as the combination of digitalization and ESG legislations pushes the limits away from conventional solutions. To relate to this path a roll-to-roll manufactured supercapacitor have been developed, fully based on sustainable materials and now available on the market for integration to a wide range of wireless customer applications. Manufacturing methods including continuous coating of electrode material on Al foil from water-based slurries and assembly of Ligna supercapacitors in our conversion line enables high-volume manufacturing of cells in a R2R format. Upscaling is about balancing cell design and product properties with production speed and process control.

Medical wearables are rapidly transforming the healthcare landscape, holding immense potential to revolutionize preventive care, disease management, and patient engagement. As the demand increases, the construction of such device require to merge very diverse technologies and to make them work together. The expansion of biosensors, their integration into wearable sensors together with skin adhesive and flexible materials, and the continuous growth of communication technologies such as NFC and Bluetooth lead to infinite combination for another level of medical monitoring.

To achieve the advanced electronics requirements of many defense applications and systems there is a demand for the use of heterogenous solutions that can integrate a variety of semiconductor chiplets onto conformal surfaces. The leading representative examples include missiles and Group 1 unmanned platforms. An increasing number of platforms are similarly moving toward these requirements, particularly with the migration to converged sensing architectures in which the electronics are located very near the RF and EOIR sensors.

Examples of the type of Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) that is needed for edge sensing and computing in defense applications include the following types of advanced electronics:

· RF mixed signal sensor front end electronics (antenna, RF, filters, channelizer)

· Small Signal Power (SSP) Point-of-Load (PoL) power management

· Sensor signal processing including AI/ML algorithms.

· Computation for backend processing (data fusion, object detection/recognition)

· Optical interconnects to transport RF sensor data more efficiently.

While the long-term solution requires many heterogenous chiplets integrated into a common system-in-package (SiP), current efforts focus on a discriminating subset of the key challenges by integrating a single mixed-bump, high-performance data converter die onto an FHE substrate. By doing so, it will demonstrate the FHE advanced electronics manufacturing, assembly, and packaging build, with process steps for 1) assembly and alignment of high-density die at 55um and 150um bump pitch devices, 2) high-speed RF and digital signal handling, 3) electrical connectivity via flip-chip, and 4) reliability testing of the packaged solution.

Past efforts have also targeted optical RF interconnects for more efficient transport of sensor data by building an RFoF PIC system for long distance fiber backhaul to replace existing RF cabling systems. These systems improve and normalize sensor data across larger aperture antenna arrays bringing life back to edge array elements previously experiencing exceptionally high RF losses.

Explore practical integration strategies for seamlessly incorporating the Loomia Electronic Layer - a type of E-textile- into various fabrics, trims, and plastics. Delve into the nuanced considerations of each method, with a focus on understanding their advantages, limitations, and ideal applications. This session aims to equip attendees with the knowledge needed to effectively scale electronic integration within trims, providing valuable insights for product developers working at the intersection of rigid and flexible materials. From automotive PU leathers to performance fabrics for AR/VR, this discussion offers practical guidance for navigating the challenges of integrating electronics into textiles and sheet materials.

One of the ‘Holy Grails’ of Additive Manufacturing is creating mixed metal and polymer composite objects at a scale and cost that goes beyond prototyping and directly competes with existing industry techniques. MAASS takes on this challenge by combining laser machining, stereolithography, and nano-inks to make functional composite objects with integrated interconnects, antennas, load-bearing features, and sensors. We rely on direct light projection and engineering resins along with a patented material switching system to create the multi-polymer structures, and inexpensive fiber lasers to micromachine and bond metal films that are backed with nano-inks. In this manner, we can fabricate bulk metal elements within dense plastic structures at a scale, speed, and cost that is competitive with existing mass manufacturing methods.

We introduce a new sustainable and scalable technique to additively manufacture nano and microelectronics. The technique eliminates etching, vacuum deposition and other chemically intensive processing by utilizing direct assembly of nanoscale particles or other nanomaterials at room temperature and atmospheric pressure onto a substrate, to precisely where the structures are built. The presented technology enables the printing of single crystal conductors and semiconductors [1]. The technology enables the additive manufacturing of passive and active components at the nano and microscale using a purely additive (directed assembly enabled) process utilizing inorganic semiconductors, metals and dielectrics nanoparticles. The process demonstrates the manufacturing of transistors with an on/off ratio greater than 10 6 . This new technology will enable the fabrication of nanoelectronics and electronic compenents while reducing the cost by 10-100 times and can print 1000 faster and 1000 smaller (down to 20nm) structures than ink-jet based printing. The nano and microscale printing platform enables the heterogeneous integration of interconnected circuit layers (like CMOS) of printed electronics and sensors at ambient temperature and pressure on rigid or flexible substrates. Printed applications such as transistors, diodes, display [2], all carbon electronics [3], and sensors at the micro and nanoscale using inorganic and organic materials will be presented. The capability of printing RDL, passive and active components monolithically allows the reduction of a board (such as an IoT sensor board) to be within a few mm of the original IC (chip) footprint. Nano OPS introduced the world’s first Nanoscale fully-automated printing system (NanoOPS) prototype with built-in alignment and registration. This is the only demonstrated solution for high-throughput printing of interconnects and circuit components at a scale equal to or less than 2 microns on rigid or flexible substrates. This new Fab-in-a-Box is designed to print electronics and products with minimum features down to 600 nm and is expected to democratize the electronics industry by eliminating the current high-cost entry barrier.

Imagine 3D printing soft robots, drones, rechargeable batteries, sensors and actuators. In this talk, Ramsey Stevens will share how to 3D print advanced applications and electronics by combining FDM 3D printing with direct-write technology. This additive manufacturing method empowers engineers, researchers, scientists, and even advanced at-home designers to fabricate electronics that adapt to diverse shapes and surfaces. Discover how combinations of materials difficult to print together, like silicone and gold or dielectrics with semiconductors, can now easily be printed in combination. Learn how viscous inks with metallic and oxide particles, polymers, hydrogels, and functional elastomers can create devices with programmed functionality. Additionally, Ramsey will share how this supply-chain resilient technology is used in electronics, healthcare, and aerospace industries. 3D printing functional devices isn't just about creating objects; it's about reimagining how materials can impact our daily lives.

NanoPrintek presents its disruptive “dry multimaterial printing” technology that transforms the current printing ecosystem. This presentation highlights the unparalleled capability of this technology and shows how it can print directly from metals and semiconductors to insulators and composites (even from scraps and rocks!) and on various substrates. The current printing ecosystem is liquid-based, which heavily suffers from major drawbacks, including i) the need for a complex and pollutive supply chain, ii) expensive and extensive ink formulation processes, iii) surfactants and contaminants, iv) limited printing inks, and v) the need for high-temperature post-processing. This talk presents NanoPrintek’s disruptive inkless multimaterial printing technology, where various materials can be printed seamlessly from solid sources. The key technology advantages include 1) on-demand and in-situ generation of various pure nanoparticles without contaminations, 2) in-situ and real-time laser sintering of nanoparticles on various substrates with no post-processing, 3) multimaterial printing of hybrid and tunable nanocomposite materials and structures. This supply-chain resilient, clean, and highly cost-effective technology transforms the electronics printing ecosystem to a new realm where pure, multimaterial, multifunctional, and hybrid materials are printed on demand, enabling various applications in the electronics, healthcare, automotive, aerospace, defense, and energy industries.

Modern day advanced technology for electronics are on track for major use cases and applications for terrestrial purposes. But the environments of space and getting there, lead to a set of new challenges that may force us to reinvent how we will produce systems that will reside in space. This talk will discuss those challenges and offer some suggestions on where the technology needs to go. It will also investigate which are candidates for actually producing these articles, not just for space, but in space which could include on orbit, or on planetary or lunar surfaces. The need is there. The technology is not. Come see why.

One of the founding ideas of Notion Systems was to replace the current subtractive process chains with additive process steps in electronics manufacturing. The n.jet inkjet platform is used to produce electronic displays, printed circuit boards, semiconductor components, as well as high precision optical 3D parts, covering the full range of solutions from lab to fab. Main inkjet applications are coating, dispensing or patterning. Patterning can easily be done with inkjet printing, as it is a digital printing process with drop-on-demand functionalities. Depending on the print head and the material used, resolutions of 20 µm are possible. Despite the fact that this is an interesting technology for any industries, there are limitations with this technology for certain display or semiconductor applications. For this reason, Notion Systems has invested in a collaboration with Scrona AG of Switzerland, which has developed an EHD printing technology.Electrohydrodynamic (EHD) printing is a new high-resolution printing technology that enables maskless, direct-write, non-contact, conformal and additive patterning at the micron scale with a variety of ink systems and materials. Print resolution exceeds that of conventional inkjet printing by two to three orders of magnitude, it paves the way for additive printing in applications dominated by photolithographic microfabrication and enables entirely new devices made from micro-scale building blocks.MEMS multi-nozzle printheads with ultra-high print resolution, enabling applications with resolution greater than 1 μm. This Research and development tool is targeted to advanced development labs in various fields of micro-fabrication and digital additive manufacturing.

Remote healthcare is becoming increasingly important for society. On-body devices designed to detect vital signals, dispense medications, and perform other functions should be soft and conformable to maximize comfort and effectiveness. Rigid printed circuit board materials like FR4 are too rigid to conform to a human body in action. Even conventional flex circuit materials like polyimide are too stiff for many applications. Researchers at Panasonic fabricated a functional soft circuit proof of concept using a pliable, high-temperature resistant, non-silicone polymer substrate in combination with conventional print-and-etch PCB fabrication and SMT processes. This presentation describes the fabrication and demonstration of this unique sensor device.

Active smart textiles are reaching a turning point, moving from systems that collect low-rate data from the wearer to complex, distributed systems that collect large amounts of data from the surrounding environment. This move is pushing on the demands of integration, power, and on-textile data analysis. SRI International is leading a team as part of the IARPA SMART ePANTS program where we will integrate an audio recording system into a garment.In this talk, I will discuss the challenges to integration and our approach to solving them. I will discuss our audio recording performance thus far, as well as some potential options for on-garment power.Further, I will discuss how we work collaboratively with our garment designers to integrate the entire system into a wearable garment that is both stylish and high performing.

In the ever-evolving landscape of advanced technology, the semiconductor industry grapples with mounting challenges to sustain its rapid pace of innovation. As cutting-edge process technology becomes increasingly cost-intensive, even design time becomes longer to ensure first time right manufacturing. Meanwhile, the booming of the Internet of Things (IoTs) demands cost-effectiveness to unlock its full potential while addressing a wide range of functionalities to make every product unique. These challenges are further compounded by a global chip shortage prompting manufacturers to refocus on short-term productivity gains. High development costs, long leadtime, supply chain challenges, in many ways, there is a need to bring more agility in semiconductor manufacturing. In this talk, we will discuss how flexible integrated circuit (FlexIC) technology can help the semiconductor industry by providing low cost, rapid production cycle and large production capacity. Pragmatic’s mission is to provide a resilient semiconductor supply chain to a wide range of industries, from fast-moving consumer goods, consumer electronics to healthcare.

In the world of printed electronics, challenges in technology and material limitations have remained a barrier to more widespread adoption. This talk will explore the transformative potential of leveraging high viscosity materials for inkjet printing. Marcel will dive into Quantica’s NovoJet inkjet printing technology, showcasing its capability to expand the repertoire of printable materials. Additionally, the presentation will delve into new avenues for applications in printed electronics, shedding light on the exciting possibilities ahead.

Additive manufacturing (AM) methods are coming of age and being used to not only fabricate structural and prototype parts but also to fabricate high-quality electronic components and circuits. Direct-write (DW) printing is emerging as one of the more promising AM methods for the fabrication of printed circuitization, printed interconnects, and other printed passive circuit components. These printed hybrid electronics (PHE) fabrication methods provide specific advantages for heterogeneous integration at both the package and board levels, for RF electronics, and for conformal electronics. Examples include: i) rapid prototyping, ii) printed interconnects, and iii) new form factors for integrating electronics directly into structural parts. Such PHE fabrication capabilities will be highlighted primarily in terms of manufacturing methods for next-gen electronics.

In this presentation, we will talk about the screens used for ultra-fine line screen printing of conductive materials in printed electronics. The limits of the finest screen printable graphic elements continue to get smaller and smaller. We will talk about what questions to ask to make sure you are internally prepared to run ultra-fine line screen printing and some of the common challenges screen printers face when pushing the technology to its limits… at least today’s limits. We will also show some of the latest results.

This presentation will look at the progress in using display industry TFT technology to make logic circuits at large scale building on lessons that can be drawn from the silicon industry to accelerate adoption by the market. This presentation will also look at how Smartkem’s TRUFLEX® organic semiconductor inks are used to make organic thin-film transistors (OTFTs) that are being used in existing display applications, and the progress being made in enabling OTFT backplane foundry services. Ian will focus on how Smartkem’s low temperature solution coating of OTFTs, directly onto arrays of RGB microLEDs is being used to develop a new generation of low-cost microLED displays at large scale.

Wearable technology is rapidly transforming our lives, extending far beyond fitness trackers and smartwatches. In healthcare, wearables are set to revolutionize how we diagnose and treat medical conditions. While most current medical wearables focus on sensing physiological data for diagnostics, there is also a growing need for wearable therapeutics. A new frontier is emerging in this space: wearable neuromodulation therapy. This innovative approach uses miniaturized devices for targeted neural stimulation, offering promising treatments for many conditions. Advancements in printed electronics—celebrated for their flexibility, MRI compatibility, ease of use, and affordability—are paving the way for the widespread adoption of this groundbreaking therapy.

Using Magnetically Aligned ZTACH® ACE
Smart label product tags (e.g. RFID tags) are ubiquitous for inventory control and asset security but require ever more functionality to support the Internet of Things (IoT). There are many options on the market for functional die with advanced capabilities beyond ID logging, such as environmental or positional recording. However, these chips are often designed for wire bonding interconnection; preventing them from being readily used in Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) applications. SunRay Scientific will present success of flip chip attachment of a commercially available NFC bare die designed for wire bonding using a standard SMT line. The die were attached using a novel anisotropic conductive epoxy, ZTACH® ACE, for flexible hybrid electronics (FHE). Implementation of a successful interconnection with flip-chip bonding is nontrivial, but there are significant advantages to be found with success. Attaching a die using a flip-chip bonding requires fewer process steps than wire bonding. The size of the circuit is significantly reduced through the elimination of the wire bond pads around the periphery of the die. Flip chip bonding is also more amenable to the materials used in FHE than wire bonding. These advantages combined with the low temperature and high-speed processing of ZTACH set the stage for mass produced inexpensive connected FHE sensors. The ZTACH® ACE material is composed of a binary epoxy resin loaded with ferromagnetic particles that have a high electrical conductivity coating. During the curing of the epoxy, a magnetic field is applied
using SunRay’s patented ZMAG® Magnetic Pallet, causing the ferromagnetic particles to align in columns forming a low electrical resistivity path through the thickness of the epoxy (and between the components and matching bonding pads), while maintaining very high electrical isolation laterally between pads. The epoxy upon cure also serves as an underfill eliminating the need for an additional process step. ZTACH® ACE material and processing reshapes current FHE packaging via single-step packaging of mixed electronic components that otherwise cannot handle elevated pressure and high temperature during assembly. Additionally, lower profile component attachment is enabled on flexible substrates so smart labels are not limited by rigidity and thickness, allowing addition of security features and integrated sensing, while decreasing costs and meeting performance requirements. This emerging anisotropic conductive epoxy is compatible with SMT lines’ sheet-to-sheet (S2S) processing. The goal of this talk will be to demonstrate the possibilities of transitioning existing wire-bondable functional bare die to FHE systems using ZTACH® ACE and existing SMT infrastructure. With additional process development, this approach of enabling manufacture of enhanced capability IoT systems using existing die and SMT infrastructure could be made widely available to US contract manufacturers.

Presenting the latest results from the lab: Printing soldermask on PCB boards, black matrix ink for image sensors, etch resist on wafers for dye protection.

The "trillion-sensor economy" metatrend prophecy is coming true. To realize its full potential in an effective and responsible manner, a re-think in the way sensing systems are manufactured, exploited and recycled, is necessary. Printed Electronics is emerging as a key-enabler for large-scale and sustainable manufacturing of sensing systems. TracXon, a fully-integrated foundry for Printed Electronics, is helping several B2B customers in realizing their ambition to be part of this trillion-sensor economy. In this talk, some application examples are presented.

Printed and hybrid electronics technologies are currently being developed for elastic wearable smart patches for health and medical applications. Also thin flexible smart labels are highly interesting for several industries to improve transparency, efficiency and security of the logistics throughout their product life cycle. Today with printed and flexible electronics solutions for practically any function required can be developed, but the bottleneck is often in upscaling. In this presentation the speeding up the upscaling utilizing VTT’s Printocent Pilot Factory is discussed. Development of printing, component assembly, postprocessing and testing is described.

This research unveils a cutting-edge technique for prototyping multi-layer flexible displays using electroluminescent ink. Additively deposited using a direct ink writing dispensing system, this ink opens up new use cases for functional information display and aesthetic appeal. These inks can be printed on diverse substrates, such as glass, paper, and plastic, enabling a new dimension in creative and interactive packaging solutions across various industries.

The strive towards device miniaturization, sustainability, and performance enhancement is propelling the development of printing technologies and innovative materials forward. XTPL's breakthroughs in printing precision down to the single micron level demonstrate the transformative potential of its combined High Performance Materials, Delta Printing System and use of modules which can be integrated on third-party systems. Leveraging nanomaterials like silver, copper, and gold, XTPL's innovative pastes enable unprecedented possibilities within the field of miniaturization across various applications. Beyond metals, XTPL's printing capabilities extend to conductive and dielectric materials, catering to diverse needs in the printed electronics industry which encompass displays, semiconductors, sensors, and optics. Addressing the nuances of different printing methods, XTPL's versatility shines through by offering tailored inks and pastes for various printing technologies, amplifying its impact across the industry.