SBIR Phase II: IC Integration Technologies for Flexible Hybrid Electronics

这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目的更广泛的影响/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，经济高效，大批量的方式将薄集成电路（ic）组装和互连到柔性基板上。柔性电子一直是许多行业期刊、贸易展览、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设备的新时代，设备嵌入到我们周围的结构和物品中。柔性电子设备，不像今天的设备是刚性和方形的，可以符合自然的，弯曲的形状存在于现实世界中。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工业还没有找到一种可靠的、低成本的方法来将薄的、柔性的集成电路组装到柔性电路板上。如今的“取放式”组装技术无法处理足够薄、足够灵活的集成电路。直到一种新的方法被开发和采用，柔性电子的潜力可能不会实现。这个小企业创新研究（SBIR）第二阶段项目将推进柔性混合电子技术的集成电路（IC）方面，使这些设备能够在生产相关环境中可靠地批量生产。虽然与印刷电子方法相关的柔性混合电子技术的大多数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方面却做得很少。文献中已经报道了部分结果，然而，没有尝试提供适合商业应用的全面的晶圆到端产品方法。该项目将通过专注于IC集成的所有步骤来解决这一差距，包括超薄柔性半导体芯片的组装准备，使用激光装配技术将其连接到柔性电路板上，以及它们可靠的电气互连。预计最终结果将是一个完整的柔性混合电子集成技术，发展到试点生产准备水平。

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.