Construction and Testing of a Functional Multilayer Demonstration Circuit Made with Gallium Indium Tin Metal Gel and Non-Silicone Stretchable Thermosetting Film

Printed circuit boards are a platform technology for virtually all electronic devices. Conventional rigid and flexible circuit materials based on copper-clad thermoset polymers have served the industry well for many decades. New generations of electronics require circuit boards (or more accurately, membranes) that are pliable, conformable and even stretchable. Thermoplastic based films and conductive pastes are commonly used to form these structures today, but their mechanical and electrical durability limitations are well known. The researchers fashioned a new, first of its kind, stretchable circuit construction by combining a non-silicone thermosetting film with inorganic eutectic Gallium-Indium-Tin metal gel to form a functional multilayer circuit complete with passive surface mount components. This paper describes the materials, fabrication and testing of this unique construction.