Collaborative Research: Computational Framework for Designing Conformal Stretchable Electronics

可拉伸电子产品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工作。这种能力使硬平面集成电路无法实现的广泛应用成为可能。例子包括柔性显示器、可拉伸生物传感器、感觉皮肤和仿生眼球相机。共形电子学是一个重要的类别，其中电子设备在正常操作条件下处于非平面状态，通常是复杂的3D几何形状。在现有的制造技术下，电子系统通常被设计和制造成一个平面，然后转换成目标的3D形状。这将引入对设备性能和功能有不利影响的扭曲。该研究项目将推进计算机支持的客户指定可拉伸共形电子设备的创建技术。这项研究的成果将有助于开发更复杂、性能更高的可拉伸和保形电子设备，应用于消费电子、医疗保健、汽车、航空航天和纺织品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结合起来的活动。这方面的一个重点是在计算机辅助设计和先进制造领域对失业的非熟练工人进行教育。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，创建和评估可拉伸共形电子器件合理设计的系统框架。本研究将利用计算和实验两种方法来实现以下目标：1)将基于水平集的多材料拓扑优化扩展到柔性电子设计中，同时优化刚性电子元件和软电气互连。2)基于保形几何理论，设计新的数值算法，在二维平面布局中设计可拉伸电子器件的图案，经过几何变换后在三维自由曲面上得到所需的保形电子器件图案。3)考虑到可拉伸电子器件的制造过程，确定有效的几何特征控制拓扑优化方法。4)以电子眼相机为试验台，验证了绘制和优化方法的有效性。该奖项反映了美国国家科学基金会的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.