Screen printed stretchable electronics including liquid metals

Soft and stretchable electronics provide unique opportunities for wearable and biomedical applications such as skin electronics, implantable electronics, smart wearable devices and soft robotics. The combination of softness and stretchability allows for the seamless interfacing of curved and deforming systems beyond the capabilities of conventional rigid and flexible electronics. Gallium-based liquid metals have recently received attention for use in stretchable electronics due to their unique combination of fluidity and conductivity.

This presentation explores recent advancements in the development and manufacturing of screen printed stretchable electronics at RISE. In particular, materials and methods for fully screen printed stretchable liquid metal multilayer circuits will be presented. Inks with dispersed liquid metal particles for screen printing and sintering processes based on water spraying have been developed which allow for large-area and high-volume manufacturing.