Influence of Component Interconnect with Printed Copper Circuits on Realized Mechanical and Electrical Characteristics in FHE Applications

Flexible electronics is now being explored extensively for its various uses in the electronics sector. The growing demand for FHE necessitates more research into 3D printing to bridge the gap between linking SMD components in circuits and replacing traditional rigid boards. Various studies and techniques are now being investigated to develop interconnectivity between printed traces and surface mount devices (SMD). It is critical to design a way for connecting passive components on a flexible substrate and creating a reliable connection for flexible electronics to replace traditional rigid boards. In FHE, very little literature is available with printed copper traces and various component attachment materials. With increasing demand in the FHE industry, it is critical to developing a thorough understanding of component attachment. In this study, we compare the effects of component attachments made with different bonding materials, such as an electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) and low-temperature solder (LTS). Using the direct write method, we print copper pads and use bonding materials to attach components such as resistors, inductors, capacitors, and LEDs. We measured the components before and after attachment to their rating values to examine interconnectivity. In addition, the cross-sectional area for the intermetallic formation was examined. For the various applications, the Shear Test (Mechanical Property) of the attached components has also been provided. To mimic the applications, we utilized OrCAD software to construct and evaluate an inverting Op-Amp circuit. The performance of the inverting Op-Amp circuit has been compared to the bonding materials.