scholarly journals Low-Cost Rapid Fabrication of Conformal Liquid-Metal Patterns

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 1565 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elassy ◽  
Akau ◽  
Shiroma ◽  
Seo ◽  
Ohta
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Communication Systems ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Spray Coating ◽  
Uv Curable ◽  
Rapid Fabrication ◽  
Communication Devices ◽  
Stretchable Conductors

Patterned conformal conductive structures are used to realize flexible electronics for applications such as electronic skin, communication devices, and sensors. Thus, there is a demand for low-cost rapid fabrication techniques for flexible and stretchable conductors. Spray-coating of liquid metals is a prototyping method that is compatible with elastic substrates. In this work, UV-curable and polyimide masks were used to pattern sprayed liquid metal (LM). The effect of the spraying parameters on the thickness and conductivity of the LM was characterized. A minimum LM linewidth of 48 µm was achieved, along with a minimum gap width of 34 µm. A LM patch antenna and transmission line, which can potentially be used for communication systems, were demonstrated using this fabrication process.

Liquid metal-based nanocomposite materials: Fabrication technology and applications

Nanoscale ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroki Ota ◽  
Nyamjargal Ochirkhuyag ◽  
Ryosuke Matsuda ◽  
Zihao Song ◽  
Fumika Nakamura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Nanocomposite Materials ◽  
Fabrication Technology

Research on liquid metals has been steadily garnering more interest in recent times because the properties of these metals are conducive to flexible electronics applications; further, these metals are in...

scholarly journals Compact and Low-Cost 3-D Printed Antennas Metalized Using Spray-Coating Technology for 5G mm-Wave Communication Systems

2018 ◽  
Vol 17 (11) ◽  
pp. 2051-2055 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shaker Alkaraki ◽  
Andre Sarker Andy ◽  
Yue Gao ◽  
Kin-Fai Tong ◽  
Zhinong Ying ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Communication Systems ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Spray Coating ◽  
Printed Antennas ◽  
Coating Technology

scholarly journals Is There a Relationship between Surface Wettability of Structured Surfaces and Lyophobicity toward Liquid Metals?

Materials ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 2283 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Handschuh-Wang ◽  
Lifei Zhu ◽  
Tao Wang
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Metal Layer ◽  
Surface Wettability ◽  
Diamond Coating ◽  
Air Plasma ◽  
Structured Surfaces ◽  
Static Contact ◽  
The Impact

The liquid metal lyophobicity of a rough substrate was, in previous articles, found to be rather independent on the surface wettability. In this article, we scrutinize the impact of surface wettability of a structured (rough) surface on the liquid metal wettability and adhesion. As a model system, a structured diamond coating was synthesized and modified by air plasma. We show that surface wettability (surface free energy) does not play a prominent role for static contact angle measurements and for the liquid metal repelling properties of the diamond coating in droplet impact experiments. In contrast, roll off angles and repeated deposition experiments illustrate that the increased hydrophilicity impacts the long-term liquid metal repellency of our coating. Liquid metal adhered after around 50 deposition/removal cycles on the hydrophilic diamond coating, while no liquid metal adhesion was visible after 100 cycles on the hydrophobic diamond coating, illustrating the fundamental role for the adhesion of liquid metal. The effect of repeated deposition in conjunction with gentle applied force was employed for coating the liquid metal lyophobic (hydrophilic) diamond coating with a thin liquid metal layer. The observed effect may find application in flexible electronics and thermal management systems as a means to improve interfacing of the liquid metal with conductive non-metal coatings.

Intermetallic wetting enabled high resolution liquid metal patterning for 3D and flexible electronics

2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucy Johnston ◽  
Jiong Yang ◽  
Jialuo Han ◽  
Kourosh Kalantar-Zadeh ◽  
Jianbo Tang
Keyword(s):  
High Resolution ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Wearable Devices ◽  
Soft Electronics

Liquid metals, highly conductive and flowable metals, are increasingly becoming versatile choices for soft electronics and wearable devices. High resolution liquid metal patterning strategies accommodative to different substrate materials and...

Pencil-on-paper flexible electronics for daily sensing applications

Circuit World ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (4) ◽  
pp. 189-195 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yan Liu ◽  
Hai Wang ◽  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Min Zhang ◽  
Hongbo Qin
Keyword(s):  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Low Cost ◽  
Daily Activities ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Sensing Applications ◽  
Rapid Fabrication ◽  
Temporary Solution ◽  
Finger Motion ◽  
And Performance

Purpose Inspired by the development of eco-friendly flexible electronics, this paper aims to present a series of paper-based electronics drawn by pencils, which can be used as favorable sensing elements in daily life. Design/methodology/approach Pencil traces are deposited on the porous surface of Xerox paper by the mechanical exfoliation during writing process, which can be used as basic components to construct functional electronics for daily sensing applications. By changing pencil grade, the obtained traces can work as conductive wires, electrodes, resistors and piezoresistive gauges. Findings The experimental results confirm their practical applications in sensing several daily activities, including finger motion, touching and the temperature of water in paper cup. Moreover, the used electronics can be easily handled and recycled. Research limitations/implications The shortage in functionality, reliability and performance consistency induced by manual operation is an evident challenge, which makes the pencil-on-paper devices more suitable to work as a temporary solution to satisfying the demands from emergency circumstances. Originality/value The pencil-on-paper devices, motivated by the electroconductibility and piezoresistivity of pencil trace, can be explored as sensing prototypes in detecting daily activities. Meantime, their advances in easy accessibility, rapid fabrication, low cost and eco-fitness endow them excellent capacity of meeting the “on-site, real-time” demands.

scholarly journals Spray-On Liquid-Metal Electrodes for Graphene Field-Effect Transistors

Micromachines ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 54 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jordan Melcher ◽  
Kareem Elassy ◽  
Richard Ordonez ◽  
Cody Hayashi ◽  
Aaron Ohta ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Field Effect ◽  
Field Effect Transistors ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Chemical Vapor ◽  
Channel Length ◽  
High Yield ◽  
Graphene Sample ◽  
Viable Solution

Advancements in flexible circuit interconnects are critical for widespread adoption of flexible electronics. Non-toxic liquid-metals offer a viable solution for flexible electrodes due to deformability and low bulk resistivity. However, fabrication processes utilizing liquid-metals suffer from high complexity, low throughput, and significant production cost. Our team utilized an inexpensive spray-on stencil technique to deposit liquid-metal Galinstan electrodes in top-gated graphene field-effect transistors (GFETs). The electrode stencils were patterned using an automated vinyl cutter and positioned directly onto chemical vapor deposition (CVD) graphene transferred to polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates. Our spray-on method exhibited a throughput of 28 transistors in under five minutes on the same graphene sample, with a 96% yield for all devices down to a channel length of 50 μm. The fabricated transistors possess hole and electron mobilities of 663.5 cm2/(V·s) and 689.9 cm2/(V·s), respectively, and support a simple and effective method of developing high-yield flexible electronics.

Liquid Metal Inks for Flexible Electronics and 3D Printing: A Review

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lei Wang ◽  
Jing Liu
Keyword(s):  
3D Printing ◽  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Printed Electronics ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Practical Applications ◽  
Medical Sensors ◽  
Push Forward ◽  
Fundamental Research ◽  
The Many

Flexible electronics and 3D printing are quickly reshaping the world in many aspects spanning from science, technology to industry and social society. However, there still exist many barriers to impede further progress of the areas. One of the biggest bottlenecks lies in the strong shortage of appropriate functional inks. Among the many printable materials ever tried such as conductive polymers, powdered plastic, metal particles or other adhesive materials, the liquid metal or its alloy is quickly emerging as a powerful electronic ink with diverse capabilities from which direct printing of flexible electronics and room temperature 3D printing for manufacturing metal structures are enabled. All these fabrication capabilities are attributed to the unique properties of such metal’s low melting point (generally less than 100 °C), flowable feature and high electrical conductivity etc. To better push forward the research and application of the liquid metal printed electronics and 3D manufacture, this article is dedicated to present an overview on the fundamental research advancements in processing and developing the liquid metal inks. Particularly, the flow, thermal, phase change and electrical properties of a group of typical liquid metals and their alloy inks will be systematically summarized and comparatively evaluated. Some of the practical applications of these materials in a wide variety of flexible electronics fabrication, 3D printing and medical sensors etc. will be briefly illustrated. Further, we also explained the basic categories of the liquid metal material genome towards discovering new functional alloy ink materials as initiated in the authors’ lab and interpret the important scientific and technical challenges lying behind. Perspective and future potentials of the liquid metal inks in more areas were also suggested.

scholarly journals Aerosol Spray Deposition of Liquid Metal and Elastomer Coatings for Rapid Processing of Stretchable Electronics

Micromachines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Taylor Neumann ◽  
Berra Kara ◽  
Yasaman Sargolzaeiaval ◽  
Sooik Im ◽  
Jinwoo Ma ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Spray Deposition ◽  
Stretchable Electronics ◽  
Conformal Coating ◽  
Aerosol Spray ◽  
Stretchable Conductors ◽  
Merging Process ◽  
Pass Through ◽  
Stretchable Sensors

We report a spray deposition technique for patterning liquid metal alloys to form stretchable conductors, which can then be encapsulated in silicone elastomers via the same spraying procedure. While spraying has been used previously to deposit many materials, including liquid metals, this work focuses on quantifying the spraying process and combining it with silicones. Spraying generates liquid metal microparticles (~5 μm diameter) that pass through openings in a stencil to produce traces with high resolution (~300 µm resolution using stencils from a craft cutter) on a substrate. The spraying produces sufficient kinetic energy (~14 m/s) to distort the particles on impact, which allows them to merge together. This merging process depends on both particle size and velocity. Particles of similar size do not merge when cast as a film. Likewise, smaller particles (<1 µm) moving at the same speed do not rupture on impact either, though calculations suggest that such particles could rupture at higher velocities. The liquid metal features can be encased by spraying uncured silicone elastomer from a volatile solvent to form a conformal coating that does not disrupt the liquid metal features during spraying. Alternating layers of liquid metal and elastomer may be patterned sequentially to build multilayer devices, such as soft and stretchable sensors.

Liquid metal sponges for mechanically durable, all-soft, electrical conductors

2017 ◽  
Vol 5 (7) ◽  
pp. 1586-1590 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suqing Liang ◽  
Yaoyao Li ◽  
Yuzhen Chen ◽  
Jinbin Yang ◽  
Taipeng Zhu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Metal ◽  
Flexible Electronics ◽  
Liquid Metals ◽  
Electrical Conductors ◽  
Porous Poly

Liquid metal sponges were developed by loading nontoxic liquid metals (GaInSn) into 3D-interconnected porous poly(dimethylsiloxane) (PDMS) sponges for flexible electronics.

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