85 research outputs found
EURO-ECOLE: Assessment of the Bioavailability and Potential Ecological Effects of Copper in European Surface Waters ; subproject 4: Evaluation and improvement of the ecological relevance of laboratory generated toxicity data
This report summarizes the acute and chronic toxicity of copper to algae, Daphnia and a few other freshwater species in standard laboratory test water and a wide range of natural surface waters (collected across Europe), with a wide range of pH, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and hardness. These data can be used for validation of bioavailability models such as the biotic ligand model (BLM)
Stretchability : the metric for stretchable electrical interconnects
Stretchable circuit technology, as the name implies, allows an electronic circuit to adapt to its surroundings by elongating when an external force is applied. Based on this, early authors proposed a straightforward metric: stretchability—the percentage length increase the circuit can survive while remaining functional. However, when comparing technologies, this metric is often unreliable as it is heavily design dependent. This paper aims to demonstrate this shortcoming and proposes a series of alternate methods to evaluate the performance of a stretchable interconnect. These methods consider circuit volume, material usage, and the reliability of the technology. This analysis is then expanded to the direct current (DC) resistance measurement performed on these stretchable interconnects. A simple dead reckoning approach is demonstrated to estimate the magnitude of these measurement errors on the final measurement
Free-form 2.5D thermoplastic circuits using one-time stretchable interconnections
A technology is presented for the production of soft and rigid circuits with an arbitrary 2.5D fixed shape. The base of this technology is our proprietary technology for elastic circuits with a random shape, in which the elastic thermoset (mostly PDMS) polymer is now replaced by soft or rigid thermoplastic variants. An additional thermoforming step is required to transform the circuit from its initial flat to its final fixed 2.5D shape, but for rigid fixed shape circuits only one-time stretchability of the extensible interconnects is required, relieving the reliability requirements
Thermo-mechanical analysis of flexible and stretchable systems
This paper presents a summary of the modeling and technology developed for flexible and stretchable electronics. The integration of ultra thin dies at package level, with thickness in the range of 20 to 30 μ m, into flexible and/or stretchable materials are demonstrated as well as the design and reliability test of stretchable metal interconnections at board level are analyzed by both experiments and finite element modeling. These technologies can achieve mechanically bendable and stretchable subsystems. The base substrate used for the fabrication of flexible circuits is a uniform polyimide layer, while silicones materials are preferred for the stretchable circuits. The method developed for chip embedding and interconnections is named Ultra Thin Chip Package (UTCP). Extensions of this technology can be achieved by stacking and embedding thin dies in polyimide, providing large benefits in electrical performance and still allowing some mechanical flexibility. These flexible circuits can be converted into stretchable circuits by replacing the relatively rigid polyimide by a soft and elastic silicone material. We have shown through finite element modeling and experimental validation that an appropriate thermo mechanical design is necessary to achieve mechanically reliable circuits and thermally optimized packages
Stretchable mould interconnect optimization : peeling automation and carrierless techniques
The primary bottleneck of the stretchable mold interconnect (SMI) technology is its reliance on carrier boards. These are necessary to handle the meandered circuit during production and to ensure dimensional stability of the flexible circuit board before encapsulation. However, for all the problems it solves, it also introduces a new major problem by requiring a peeling step – which is difficult to automate. This manuscript aims to present some of the work that went into eliminating this problem, discussing both unsuccessful and functioning methods to tackle this conundrum and some of the experimental work that went into verifying these techniques. First, alterations to the design to simplify peeling are considered, followed by adhesivebased peeling processes and mechanical pin-based systems. Next, masking and structuring of the carrier board adhesive are considered. Finally, two carrierless methods which circumvent the problems are discussed, a two-step process – which cuts temporary support structures after partial encapsulation – and a technique whereby the frame is designed to fail in a controlled manner during the first use of the circuit, creating a carrierless process feasible for high-volume production
One-time deformable thermoplastic devices based on flexible circuit board technology
This contribution describes an efficient process flow
for production of one-time deformable electronic devices based
on standard circuit board technology and demonstrates multiple
devices fabricated using this technique. The described technology
has the potential to streamline and simplify the production of
complex user interfaces which typically require extensive
mechanical design and many components. The employed
technique allows for the production of complex 3D shapes
without the need to modify existing circuit board manufacturing
equipment or processes significantly. To achieve this the device is
manufactured in a flat state, encapsulated in a thermoplastic
polymer laminate and deformed afterwards. This allows the
usage of standard electronic components in surface mount
packages, which are assembled using lead-free high-temperature
solder. The circuit is deformed using a high-volume cost-effective
thermoforming approach, where the encapsulating polymer is
heated above its glass transition temperature and forced against
a mold where it is allowed to cool down again. To enable
significant out-of-plane deformations stretchable meandering
interconnects are used, which were traditionally developed for
dynamically stretchable devices. Fabrication of the circuit starts
using a standard flexible copper clad laminate which is processed
using the default techniques, the resulting circuit is then attached
to a carrier board coated with a reusable high-temperature
pressure sensitive adhesive. The interconnect and circuit outline
is then defined using laser routing or punching, cutting the
flexible circuit without damaging the carrier. The residuals not
part of the circuit are removed, in a process akin to protective
film removal, and solder paste is stencil printed on the circuit.
Afterwards components are placed using a pick-and-place
machine and the boards are reflow soldered. After functional
testing and repair (if necessary) the circuits are placed in a
vacuum press with a thermoplastic laminate, consisting of a
thermoplastic elastomer and a rigid thermoplastic sheet. During
this lamination the components are protected by a highly
conforming press pad. Because the adhesion between the
elastomer and the circuit far exceeds that between the circuit and
the carrier the circuit is released readily as the thermoplastic
laminate is peeled away. The resulting laminate is built up
further using thermoplastic films and sheets, and finally
deformed using a vacuum forming machine. The resulting
device, which is trimmed to remove the clamping edges, can then
be mounted in the final assembly. The advantages of this
approach are demonstrated using a series of test vehicles,
demonstrating the integration of complex circuits, connectors,
and power circuitry. Finally, a series of design considerations
that became apparent after initial reliability testing are
discussed, together with the resulting design rules
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