Paul Gaylo | Lockheed Martin: At what stage of product development is it most effective to introduce flexible hybrid electronics?

Can a $36 consumer car part hold the key to surviving 1,000°C aerospace environments?

Designing electronics that survive extreme temperatures of up to 1,000°C usually requires exotic materials, expensive budgets, and custom engineering. However, automotive engineers solved this problem decades ago with the wideband oxygen sensor found in internal combustion vehicles. By reverse-engineering this cheap, consumer-grade part, engineers can uncover valuable design methodologies for high-temperature survival.

Using CT scans and radiographs, the speaker exposes the inner architecture of a $36 sensor. Instead of rigid welds that break under thermal expansion, the sensor utilizes sliding contactors and mechanical spring clamps made of high-temperature alloys that retain their modulus at scale. This allows the system to easily handle severe coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) mismatches across extreme temperature gradients.

This approach reveals that we don't always need to reinvent the wheel for high-temperature packages. By analyzing multilayer ceramic co-fired structures, thick-film vias, and passive compliance mechanisms in mass-produced automotive parts, designers can significantly lower the cost and development time of aerospace-grade electronic packaging.

In this short video, you can learn:
* How automotive wideband oxygen sensors survive 1,000°C temperatures with high reliability.
* The structural mechanics of sliding contacts and spring clamps used to handle CTE mismatch.
* How to leverage mass-production packaging methods for high-temperature military and aerospace design.

📋 **Clip Abstract** This clip details how a common, low-cost automotive wideband oxygen sensor is reverse-engineered to reveal sophisticated high-temperature packaging techniques. By examining CT scans of its inner spring contacts and multilayer ceramics, the speaker demonstrates how to solve severe CTE mismatch issues at temperatures up to 1,000°C.

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How do we rapidly transition complex, multi-material 3D microelectronics from initial prototype to flight-ready hardware?

The integration of electrical interconnects onto complex, non-planar geometries represents a significant hurdle in advanced packaging. Traditional lithographic and deposition techniques struggle with steep vertical transitions and multi-material integration on non-standard substrates. Additive manufacturing, specifically aerosol jet printing, offers a viable pathway to deposit precise conductive and resistive traces directly onto complex surfaces without the need for masks.

This approach is demonstrated through the successful metallization of a 3D-printed ceramic substrate, achieving seamless electrical continuity across steep sidewalls and multi-planar transitions. By utilizing specialized functional inks, including a refractory alloy ink to define precise resistive regions alongside standard conductive metallization, developers can fabricate highly complex, multi-material devices. This method eliminates traditional tooling constraints and enables rapid, high-temperature-capable prototyping.

The true value of this additive workflow lies in its immediate viability for production-grade hardware rather than mere laboratory demonstration. By leveraging an established ecosystem of material partners and mature functional inks, the transition from initial design to a functional, ruggedized component can be compressed into a matter of weeks. This rapid cycle proves that direct-write digital metallization is fully mature and ready to solve immediate, real-world thermal and electrical packaging challenges.

In this short video, you can learn:
* How aerosol jet printing enables complex metallization across steep 3D sidewalls and multi-planar transitions.
* The role of specialized refractory alloy inks in creating integrated resistive elements on ceramic substrates.
* How leveraging mature material partnerships accelerates the technology transition from first-pass prototype to functional product.

📋 **Clip Abstract** The speaker presents a successful first-pass prototype of a high-temperature electrical component fabricated by aerosol jet printing conductive and resistive refractory inks onto a 3D-printed ceramic substrate. This complex, multi-planar device demonstrates how mature additive manufacturing resources can rapidly deliver functional, real-world hardware in a matter of weeks.

🎤 Speaker: Paul Gaylo
🏢 Company: Lockheed Martin
📅 Event: Future of Electronics RESHAPED USA 2026
📍 Location: Computer History Museum, Mountain View, California, USA

🌐 Learn more at the next TechBlick event: https://www.techblick.com

How do you build high-frequency RF antennas that survive high temperatures without cracking the ceramic substrate?

Designing high-temperature spiral antennas presents a classic material science compromise. Traditional Teflon-based circuit board substrates offer excellent dielectric properties but fail at elevated temperatures, whereas switching to ceramics introduces high loss and severe manufacturing challenges. To solve this, engineers must find a way to minimize substrate thickness while depositing metal tracks without causing thermal shock.

In this clip, the speaker details using Corning's ultra-thin 80-micron ribbon alumina ceramic as a low-loss, high-temperature substrate. However, attaching metal to such thin, delicate ceramic is highly problematic; traditional powder bed fusion and high-temperature sintering techniques inevitably thermal-shock and crack the fragile alumina.

The solution lies in room-temperature, electrochemical additive manufacturing. By growing the antenna's metal structures electrochemically at room temperature, engineers bypass thermal stress altogether, achieving a high-performance, high-temperature RF antenna on ribbon ceramic without structural damage.

In this short video, you can learn:
* Why standard Teflon substrates fail at high temperatures and how thin ribbon ceramics offer an alternative.
* The thermal shock challenges of depositing metallization onto ultra-thin (80-micron) alumina.
* How room-temperature electrochemical additive manufacturing prevents ceramic cracking during metallization.

📋 **Clip Abstract** The speaker discusses the challenges of migrating RF spiral antennas from low-temperature Teflon substrates to high-temperature ceramics. He demonstrates how using 80-micron ribbon alumina ceramic paired with room-temperature electrochemical metallization successfully prevents thermal cracking.

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