HyPerStripes

The HyPerStripes project, which was launched in spring 2022 targeting the development of new packaging and connection technologies for bendable electronics, quite impressed the European reviewers with its interim results in April of this year. The work on the six application demonstrators, which are mainly designed and developed for the medical sector, was presented. These range from the use of large-area sensor mats for the continuous recording of vital parameters to the replacement of rigid cabling systems with flexible polymer films. The latter is of crucial importance, as breaks and interruptions can occur during the installation of the connection cables and therefore the reliable functioning of the entire sensor unit or system cannot be guaranteed. In the German consortium of the nationally funded project (funding code: 16ME0469), IMS CHIPS is responsible for chip chip integration and contacting on flexible polymer substrates for the application demonstrator of the cardiac catheter specialist Osypka.

The application demonstrator consists of two individual components. One is a sensor patch to record electrical signals in the tissue, which is equipped with an integrated readout ASIC. This is used to evaluate and digitize the small, sensitive signals directly on site. The second main component is a long and thin polymer strip, which is intended to replace the rigid connecting cables. Both components are made of a polymer, thermoplastic polyurethane, which not only offers flexibility but also stretchability as a material property. Fraunhofer EMFT is developing the roll-to-roll technology for the bendable cable systems, and the sensor patch is being produced at Würth Elektronik using the sheet-2-sheet process. The electrical connection of the two components is made possible by galvanically grown nanowires on the contact surfaces and subsequent joining processes, which are provided by the NanoWired GmbH. This metallic lawn of hair-thin metal rods ensures the electrical and mechanical stability of the entire application demonstrator, similar to a Velcro fastener.