SBIR Phase I: Spatially-heterogeneous modulus substrates for stretchable electronics fabrication

这个小企业创新研究第一阶段项目将评估一种专门为降低可拉伸电子产品制造复杂性而设计的新型基板材料的商业可行性。目前市场规模为160万美元，由于可穿戴技术、结构健康监测设备和医疗诊断工具的激增，预计到2023年，可拉伸电子产品的累计年增长率将达到101.3%，销售额将达到4.12亿美元。在某种程度上，可拉伸电子产品目前的市场规模受到不成熟的制造工具和所需技术的限制，例如转移和纳米印刷。由SBIR第一阶段资助的研究和开发可以大幅降低制造复杂性，使可伸缩电子设备能够使用当前的行业标准MEMS技术制造。该项目的智力价值在于能够制造具有固有刚度差异的电子基板材料（没有层压层，图案填充物等）。其使用标准光刻技术来限定。具体地，这些基底可以在空间上分离成低杨氏模量的区域（软基质）和高杨氏模量的区域（硬岛），这两个区域之间的模量差异达到1000：1（硬：软）的比率。在最初的工作中，这些空间异质模量基板的演示表明，空间分辨率可以在毫米级实现，并且可以引入局部应变作为图案化的刚性区域的函数跨越基板。该项目的目标是集中在（a）工程与所需的属性为软区和（B）展示微图案化的薄膜组件（特征尺寸20微米）的刚性区域引入到材料的微制造的最佳起始基板材料。第一阶段的资助将最终产生原型薄膜电子元件，这些元件在高全球应变下保持电气性能，同时还显示出基板材料承受微制造过程中观察到的苛刻热和化学条件的能力。

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project will assess the commercial viability of a new substrate material specifically designed for reducing the manufacturing complexity of stretchable electronics. Currently a $1.6 million market, stretchable electronics are expected to grow at a cumulative annual growth rate of 101.3% to reach $412 million in sales by 2023 due to the surge in wearable technologies, structural health monitoring devices, and medical diagnostic tools. In part, the current market size for stretchable electronics is limited by the immature manufacturing tools and techniques required, such as transfer- and nano-printing. The research and development funded by the Phase I SBIR could lead to a drastic reduction in manufacturing complexity, allowing stretchable electronic devices to be manufactured using current industry standard photolithographic techniques.The intellectual merit of this project lies in the ability to create electronic substrate materials with intrinsic stiffness differences (those without laminated layers, patterned fillers, etc.) that are defined using standard lithography techniques. Specifically, these substrates can be spatially segregated into regions of low Young's modulus (the soft matrix) and regions of high Young's modulus (the stiff islands) with a difference in modulus between these two regions reaching ratios of 1000:1 (stiff:soft). In the initial work, demonstrations of these spatially-heterogeneous modulus substrates show that spatial resolution can be achieved at the millimeter scale, and can introduce localized strain across the substrate as a function of the patterned stiff regions. The objectives for this project are focused on (a) engineering an optimal starting substrate material with the desired properties for the soft region and (b) demonstrating microfabrication of micropatterned thin-film components (feature sizes 20 microns) of stiff regions introduced into the material. This Phase I grant will culminate in prototype thin-film electronic components which maintain electrical performance at high global strains, while also showing the capacity of the substrate materials to withstand the harsh thermal and chemical conditions observed during microfabrication.