SBIR Phase II: IC Integration Technologies for Flexible Hybrid Electronics

小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目的更广泛影响/商业潜力是解决柔性电子产品出现的主要障碍之一--无法以可靠、具有成本效益的大批量方式在柔性基板上组装和互连薄型集成电路(IC)。柔性电子产品已成为许多行业期刊、贸易展会、技术会议和市场研究报告的主题。所有这些都描述了一个无处不在的电子产品的新时代，设备嵌入到我们周围的结构和物品中。灵活的电子设备不像今天的僵硬和四四方方的设备，它可以符合现实世界中存在的自然的、弯曲的形状。然而，柔性电子产品尚未产生预期的经济和社会影响。一个主要原因是因为电子行业还没有找到一种可靠的、低成本的方法来将薄而灵活的IC组装到柔性电路板上。今天的“拾取贴装”组装技术不能处理足够薄的IC，使其变得灵活。在开发和采用新方法之前，柔性电子产品的潜力很可能无法实现。这个小型企业创新研究(SBIR)第二阶段项目将把柔性混合电子技术的集成电路(IC)方面提升到一个水平，使这些设备能够在与生产相关的环境中可靠地批量生产。尽管与印刷电子学方法相关的柔性混合电子技术的大部分组件已经得到了充分的研究和开发，但在将固态半导体器件集成到高度柔性的有机衬底上的工作还很少。文献中已经报道了部分结果，然而，还没有人试图提供适合商业应用的全面的晶片到端产品方法。该项目将通过专注于IC集成的所有步骤来解决这一差距，包括准备组装超薄、柔性半导体芯片，使用激光组装技术将其连接到柔性电路板上，以及它们可靠的电气互连。预期的最终结果将是开发出一种完全灵活的混合电子集成技术，达到试生产准备的水平。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project is to address one of the primary barriers to the emergence of flexible electronics -the inability to assembly and interconnect thinned integrated circuits (ICs) onto flexible substrates in a reliable, cost-effective, high volume manner. Flexible electronics has been the subject of many industry journals, trade shows, technical conferences and market research reports. All describe a new age of ubiquitous electronics with devices embedded in the structures and items around us. Flexible electronic devices, unlike today's devices that are rigid and boxy, can conform to natural, curved shapes that exist in the real world. However, flexible electronics have yet to have their predicted economic and social impact. A major reason is because the electronics industry has not yet found a reliable, low-cost method for assembling thin, flexible ICs onto flexible circuit boards. Today's 'pick-and-place' assembly technology cannot handle ICs thin enough to be flexible. Until a new method is developed and adopted, the potential of flexible electronics will likely not be realized.This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase II project will advance the integrated circuit (IC) aspects of a flexible hybrid electronics technology to a level at which these devices can be produced reliably and in volumes in a production-relevant environment. While most of the components of flexible hybrid electronics technology relating to printed electronics methods have been adequately researched and developed, little has been done on the integration of solid-state semiconductor devices onto highly flexible, organic substrates. Partial results have been reported in the literature, however, no attempt has been made to provide a comprehensive, wafer-to-end product approach suitable for commercial applications. This project will address this gap by focusing on all the steps for IC integration, including the preparation for assembly of ultra-thin, flexible semiconductor dies, their attachment onto a flexible circuit board using laser-enabled assembly technology, and their reliable electrical interconnection. The anticipated end results will be a complete flexible hybrid electronics integration technology developed to a level of pilot production readiness.