Performance of Component Interconnection Methods on Direct Write Additive Silver Circuits

Flexible electronics has gained increased traction in a number of applications for closer integration of form and function. Further research in 3D printing is needed to bridge the gap between connecting SMD components on additively printed circuits and replacing conventional rigid boards due to the increased need for FHE. Different research and technology to build interconnections between printed traces and surface mounting devices are presently being studied (SMD). It is crucial to develop the way passive components are connected to a flexible substrate and to create a reliable connection to replace traditional rigid boards with flexible electronics. In FHE, there is quite some literature available with printed silver traces and various component attachment materials. With the growing demand for silver in Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE), it is critical to comprehend the effect of the binding material on the performance of the connected component. To understand the behavior of the binding materials, we employed several binding materials such as low-temperature solder (LTS) and electrically conductive adhesive (ECA) in conjunction with various active and passive components in this study. We tested the components before and after attachment to have a better knowledge of the component attachment performance characteristics. We also examine the intermetallic development at the cross-section using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with Energy Dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). The Shear Test (Mechanical Property) of the attached components has also been presented for the various applications to establish a reliable application-based material selection. We have used OrCAD software to build and analyze an inverting OpAmp circuit to simulate applications.