Collaborative Research: Computational Framework for Designing Conformal Stretchable Electronics

可伸展的电子设备可以像橡皮筋一样拉伸、折叠、弯曲和扭曲，同时像传统电子设备一样发挥作用。这一能力使硬质平面集成电路无法实现广泛的应用。例如，柔性显示器、可伸展的生物传感器、感官皮肤和仿生眼球相机。共形电子学是电子设备在正常工作条件下处于非平面状态的一个重要类别，通常是复杂的3D几何结构。在现有的制造技术下，电子系统通常被设计和制造成平板，然后转换成目标3D形状。这会导致对设备性能和功能产生不利影响的失真。这项研究项目将推进计算机支持的客户指定的可伸展共形电子设备的创造技术。这项研究的成果将使更复杂、更高性能的可伸缩和共形电子设备的开发成为可能，这些设备将应用于消费电子、医疗保健、汽车、航空航天和纺织等广泛且不断增长的行业。该项目还包括将创新研究与教学和外联活动相结合的活动。这项研究的重点是对失业的非熟练工人进行计算机辅助设计和先进制造领域的教育。本研究旨在通过将共形几何理论与基于水平集的拓扑优化方法相结合，创建和评估可伸缩共形电子产品合理设计的系统框架。1)将基于水平集的多材料拓扑优化扩展到柔性电子设计，以同时优化刚性电子元器件和软电互连。2)设计了基于保角几何理论的二维平面可伸缩电子器件图形设计的数值算法，经过几何变换后可在三维自由曲面上生成所需的保形图形。3)结合可伸缩电子器件的制造过程，找出几何特征控制进行拓扑优化的有效途径。4)以电子眼相机为试验台，验证测绘和优化方法的有效性。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

Stretchable electronics can be stretched, folded, bent and twisted like a rubber band while functioning like the conventional electronic device. This capability enables extensive applications impossible for hard, planar integrated circuits. Examples include flexible displays, stretchable biosensors, sensory skins, and bio-inspired eyeball cameras. Conformal electronics is an important category in which an electronic device is in a non-flat state, normally a complex 3D geometry, under normal operating conditions. Under existing fabrication techniques, the electronic systems are usually designed and fabricated as a flat sheet and then transformed into the targeted 3D shape. This introduces distortions that have an adverse impact on device performance and functionality. This research project will advance techniques for the computer-supported creation of customer-specified stretchable conformal electronics devices. Outcomes of this research will enable the development of more complex, higher-performing stretchable and conformal electronic devices with applications across a broad and growing array of industries such as consumer electronics, healthcare, automotive, aerospace, and textiles. The project also includes activities to incorporate innovative research with teaching and outreach activities. A focal point of this is education of displaced unskilled workers in the areas of computer-aided design and advanced manufacturing.This research aims to create and evaluate a systematic framework for rational design of stretchable conformal electronics by integrating conformal geometry theory with the level-set-based topology optimization approach. This research will harness both computational and experimental approaches to pursue the following aims: 1) Extend the level-set-based multimaterial topology optimization to flexible electronics design to simultaneously optimize rigid electronic components and soft electrical interconnects. 2) Devise new numerical algorithms based on the conformal geometry theory to design the patterns of stretchable electronics devices in 2D planar layout, which will yield the desired patterns of conformal electronics on 3D freeform surfaces after geometric transformation. 3) Identify effective approaches to topology optimization with geometric feature control, considering the fabrication process of stretchable electronics. 4) Validate the effectiveness of the mapping and optimization methods using the electronic eye camera as a testbed.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.