Microscale liquid metal conductors for stretchable and transparent electronics

Dejace, L., Chen, H. , Furfaro, I., Schiavone, G. and Lacour, S. P. (2021) Microscale liquid metal conductors for stretchable and transparent electronics. Advanced Materials Technologies, 6(11), 2100690. (doi: 10.1002/admt.202100690)

Abstract

Integrated wearable electronics capable of transducing and transmitting biophysical information on complex and dynamic systems are attracting high interest across the consumer electronics, clinical, and research domains. Gallium and gallium-based liquid metals (LMs) emerge as promising conductor technology for wearables due to their excellent combination of electrical conductivity and mechanical compliance. However, LMs feature complex physical and chemical properties that pose significant manufacturability challenges. Herein, a microtechnology approach is presented to fabricate deformable, microscale LM conductors with high surface density and over large surface areas. Based on a combination of soft lithography, directional patterning, and thermal evaporation of gallium, this new technology enables a range of designs and geometries that can be used to form LM-based stretchable electronic conductors. The versatility of the technology enables a palette of circuit designs that can offer unrivaled transparency (T > 89%) or large metallization density (2/5 µm line/gap).

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: The authors acknowledge support from the Bertarelli Foundation, the SNSF NCCR Robotics, and the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 665667 to G.S. for their financial support. Open Access Funding provided by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Chen, Dr Haotian
• Authors: Dejace, L., Chen, H., Furfaro, I., Schiavone, G., and Lacour, S. P.
• College/School: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Biomedical Engineering
• Journal Name: Advanced Materials Technologies
• Publisher: Wiley
• ISSN: 2365-709X
• ISSN (Online): 2365-709X
• Published Online: 06 August 2021
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2021 The Authors
• First Published: First published in Advanced Materials Technologies 6(11):2100690
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License