ABSTRACT:

Flex circuits are flexible electronic circuits made of

thin sheets of silicon mounted on rubber or plastic medium that are
foldable, stretchable and bendable into any desired shape that can be
weared or implanted.

Present circuits are mounted on rigid base and this

rigidity pose shape limitations for electronic equipments. The flex circuits
reduce the size& weight of the finished product. It allows increased
circuit density and eliminates bulky connections.

These flex circuits can be designed in configurations

from simple single sided conductive paths to complex three dimensional
assemblies utilizing variety of fabrication materials. These circuits can be
made to fold or stretch and still match the performance of rigid circuits.

There are many reasons for opting flex circuits like

size& weight reduction, increased reliability, reduced assembly time&
cost, improved heat dissipation and three dimensional packaging
capabilities.

They are mainly used in tightly assembled packages,

dynamic flexing applications, human implants and wearable products
such as an external wearable thermometer to an extremely high-tech
artificial eye that could provide visibility to the humans who might have
lost their eyesight badly.

These flex circuits would likely bring more hopes of

new innovations in various engineering sections owing to its unmatched
advantageous capabilities. The way to lighter, highly efficient and non-
bulky electronics is made possible through these flexible circuits.
INTRODUCTION:

Flexible electronic circuits made of thin sheets of silicon on

plastic or rubber can be stretched and bent without breaking and can be
used as wearable computers, implanted inside the human body, for
implantable health monitoring systems, and many other areas where the
conventional circuits cannot be used.

The stretchable silicon integrated circuit can be wrapped

around complex shapes such as spheres, body parts and aircraft wings,
and can operate during stretching, compressing, folding and other types
of extreme mechanical deformations, without a reduction in electrical
performance.

Flexible circuitry reduces the size and weight of a finished

product. It allows increased circuit density and eliminates bulky
connections and wiring. And the added ability to fold the circuit expands
the boundaries of design and packaging.

FLEX CIRCUITS:

Flexible electronics also known as flex circuits or flex

circuit boards, is a technology for assembling electronic circuits by
mounting electronic devices on flexible high-performance plastic
substrates, such as polyimide. Circuits can be designed in configurations
from simple, single-sided conductive paths to complex high density
three-dimensional assemblies utilizing a variety of fabrication materials.

Flex circuits can be screen printed silver circuits on

polyester. Flexible electronic assemblies may be manufactured using
identical components used for rigid printed circuit boards, allowing the
board to conform to a desired shape, or to flex(Fig.1) during its use.
 Researchers have shown that electrical circuits can be made
to fold and stretch and still match the performance of circuits built on
rigid wafers. The new work exploits that ultra thin geometry to make two
types of circuits. One type is merely foldable: silicon-based circuits were
placed on unstrained plastic sheets, resulting in circuitry that can fold up
like a piece of paper. To ensure that the circuit would work well no matter
what direction it is twisted or bent, the researchers place the silicon, or
whatever part of the circuit is most fragile, at a distance between the top
and bottom on the circuit sheet that experiences the least amount of
strain. Placing the fragile components of the circuit in the appropriate
place within the circuit sheet optimizes the electronics and allows them to
work as well as those on a solid wafer.

Fig.1

CONSTRUCTION:

Flexible circuits are most commonly manufactured

using one of two base materials, either polyimide or polyester.
Polyimide is favoured where soldering of the assembly is required, while
polyester is generally used in low-cost applications. Polyimide is also the
material of choice for manufacturing nearly all CSPs (cyclic segmented
prefix) and flex BGAs (ball and grid array). However, polyester has been
successfully used in the creation of Smart Cards, which are arguably a
large format chip package and due some recognition.

TYPES OF FLEX CIRCUITS:

Single-sided flex circuits

Single-sided flexible circuits are the most common type in

production today. They are also the construction most often employed
and best suited to dynamic flexing applications. Their construction
consists of a single patterned conductor layer on a flexible dielectric film
termination features on these circuits are accessible only from one side.
Single-sided flex circuits can be fabricated with or without such
protective coatings as cover layers or cover coats. While many different
metal foils can be used as the conductor, copper foil is the most common.

Back-sided flex circuits

Back-sided flex circuits (also known as double-access

flexible circuits), contain only a single conductor layer, but are processed
to allow access to the conductors from both sides. This construction is
often employed in IC packaging. Tape automated bonding (TAB), for
example, relies almost exclusively on this construction (Fig.2). Similarly,
most flex-based CSPs employ this construction.

Fig.2

Double-sided flexible circuits

Double-sided flex circuits contain two conductor layers and

can be produced with or without plated-through holes, depending on
design requirements. Two-metal layer flex circuits will likely see
increased use in chip packaging, as operating frequencies continue to rise
and the need for controlled impedance constructions increases.
Multilayer flexible circuits

Flex circuits that have three or more conductor layers are

referred to as multilayer flex. The layers of the circuit are interconnected
with plated-through holes(Fig.2-11). Newer methods of constructing
multilayer flex circuits may limit the need for high aspect ratio plating.
Newer multi-chip packages (MCPs), with their higher interconnection
density, may employ such structures in the future.

Rigid-flexible circuits

Rigid-flex circuits are a hybrid construction, consisting of

rigid and flexible substrates laminated together into a single package and
electrically interconnected by means of plated-through holes. Such
flexible circuit types have also enjoyed tremendous popularity among
military product designers, but, in recent years, this type of construction
has made gains in the commercial world, as well. Rigid-flex boards are
normally multilayer designs, but double-sided (two-metal layer)
constructions are possible, as well, and, in fact, have been selected for
certain microelectronic chip-packaging applications, most notably in the
construction of hearing aids.

BENEFITS:

There are numerous motivational reasons for using flex

circuit technology. As an interconnection methodology they are
unmatched in terms of their versatility. Following is an examination of
some situations where flex circuits can solve packaging problems

Size and weight reduction

Flex circuits are among the thinnest dielectric substrates

available for electronic interconnection. In extreme cases, it is possible to
produce flexible circuits less than 0.002" total thickness, including the
cover layer Flex circuits can also help reduce the weight of an electronic
package significantly (up to 75% weight reduction or more is possible)
These attributes have not been lost on the IC packaging community,
which packages a significant and growing percentage of CSP devices
using flex circuits.
Reduced Assembly Time and Costs

Because flex circuits can seamlessly integrate form, fit and

function, flexible circuits can provide an excellent means of reducing
assembly time of a product. Other benefits are derived from the ability to
reduce the number of assembly operations required, and from the user's
ability to construct and test the circuit completely, prior to committing the
circuit to assembly.

Increased system reliability

Reliability engineers note that when an electronic package

of any type fails, it is typically at a point of interconnection. When
employed to greatest advantage, flexible circuits are an excellent means
of reducing the number of levels of interconnection required in an
electronic package.

Improved controlled Impedance

Signal Transmission Design and Manufacture Materials used

for flexible circuits are very uniform in both thickness and electrical
properties. This feature facilitates the production of circuits needed for
high-speed packaging applications.

Improved heat dissipation

Capability Flat conductors have a much greater surface-to-

volume ratio than round wire. This extra surface area facilitates the
dissipation of heat in conductors. In addition, the short thermal path in
flex circuit constructions further improves heat dissipation.

Three-dimensional packaging capability

Much has been written in recent years about the advantages

of injection moulded boards as a means of achieving a truly three-
dimensional interconnection structure. This advantage appears poised for
exploitation in IC packaging.

THE NEXT GENERATION:

 The newer flex circuit IC packaging constructions are
showcasing the technology's ability to meet the demand for increased
circuit density. These new packages often occupy a small fraction of the
volume of more traditional approaches. The result is a continuation of the
electronics industry's familiar rubric of smaller, faster and lighter.
In fact, some TAB was made on thin glass epoxy substrates,
adding testimony to the lack of true concern about flexibility(Fig.4),
beyond the material’s ability to be wound and unwound from large film
reels.

Fig.4
APPLICATIONS:

Flex circuits are often used as connectors in various

applications where flexibility, space savings, or production constraints
limit the serviceability of rigid circuit boards or hand wiring. In addition
to cameras, a common application of flex circuits is in computer
keyboard manufacturing; most keyboards made today use flex circuits for
the switch matrix.
Flexible circuit offers value added services that will help with bringing
the design to reality with following advantages:
 Tightly assembled electronic packages, where electrical
connections are required in 3 axes, such as cameras (static
application).
 Electrical connections where the assembly is required to flex
during its normal use, such as folding cell phones (dynamic
-application).

 Electrical connections between sub-assemblies to replace wire

harnesses, which are heavier and bulkier, such as in rockets and
satellites.
  Electrical connections where board thickness or space constraints
are driving factors.
 Flexible circuitry could help efforts to create clothing containing
wearable gadgets.
 Human implantable and wearable circuits(Fig.6).

Fig.6

CONCLUSION:

The innovations in the electronic devices will surely

be able to reach much higher and unimaginable limits with the use of
these flex circuits. They enable the young researchers and developers to
make all the impossible lighter, slimmer but still efficient range of
electronics possible in a short period of time.
These flexible circuits has also opened a wide
gateway in Bio-medical engineers as it paves the way for more efficient
artificial circuits that could be made wearable or implanted in humans to
make human life even more better.
On the whole, these flex circuits would enlighten the future range of
technological advancements in the packaging circuitry.