Electronics Development for Integration

In order to produce an electronic system, the different electronic components must be fixed on a carrier and electrically interconnected. Since tens of years this has been done making use of printed circuit board (PCB) technology. The production flow of PCB, using flat rigid substrates, provides an easy way for electronic circuit production. This chapter presents a number of novel technologies that were developed for the future fabrication of smart objects. It describes the development and application of an ultrathin chip package (UTCP), allowing for extreme miniaturization of electronic assemblies. The chapter introduces an application for the circuit board‐based stretchable circuits which is the integration of electronic circuits in thermoplastics, resulting in free‐form rigid devices that can be manufactured in a flat state. The key to integrating the existing elastic circuit technologies is replacing the silicone rubber with thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU).