Flexible electronics, also known as flex circuits or flexible circuits, refer to electronic devices and circuits that are built on flexible plastic or rubber substrates instead of traditional rigid printed circuit boards. The electronics industry has been integrating rigid circuits on glass, ceramics and rigid boards for decades but flexible electronics provide several advantages over rigid circuits. In this article, we will discuss the different aspects of flexible electronics including emerging applications, manufacturing techniques, challenges and future potential.
Emergence of Flexible Technology
Flexible electronics first emerged in the 1960s with pioneering work on conductive polymers and materials like lithium batteries that could bend and flex. However, it was not until the 1990s and 2000s that substantial research and development efforts went into advancing flex circuit technology. Driven by the miniaturization of consumer electronics and emerging applications requiring lightweight and flexible form factors, flexible hybrid electronics started gaining momentum. Flexible displays, flexible solar panels, wearable devices were some of the early prototypes demonstrated by research labs and tech companies.
Commercialization of Flex Products
In the last decade, flexible electronic products started entering the consumer market. One of the earliest commercial flexible electronic products were flexible printed circuit boards (FPCBs) used inside gadgets like phones, cameras, and other portable devices requiring compact packaging. Around 2010, companies like LG started shipping the first generation of flexible OLED displays and around 2014, electronic skin patches and wristbands with embedded flex circuits hit the market. Today, we see mainstream products like the Galaxy Fold phones using foldable displays and solar panels made of flexible plastic instead of glass. The global flexible electronics market is expected to reach $42.6 billion by 2027 growing at a CAGR of 14.9% according to recent estimates.
Manufacturing Techniques
Several advancements have enabled the manufacturing of reliable and reproducible flexible circuits. Advances in materials science have resulted in the development of flexible substrates like polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyimide and parylene which can withstand flexing and creasing. Flexible conductors using materials like silver nanowires, conductive polymers and graphene provide the required electrical properties. Miniaturized electronic components have also been integrated on flex foils. Roll-to-roll manufacturing enables the continuous, high-volume, and low-cost production of flexible circuits similar to printing newspapers. Other techniques like transfer printing facilitate the precise placement of microscale/nanoscale structures on flexible substrates. Overall, flexible electronics manufacturing has matured to deliver functional circuits on thin plastic or rubber substrates.
Applications of Flexible Electronics
Flexible circuits are enabling a wide variety of innovative applications due to their inherent advantages over rigid PCBs. Let’s explore some of the emerging applications of flexible electronics.
Wearables and Skin Patches
One of the largest emerging application areas is wearable electronics and skin patches. Flexible circuits allow conformal integration of sensors, batteries and circuits on curvy body surfaces like wrists, arms etc. This has enabled the development of skin-mountable health monitors, skin hydration boosters, continuous glucose monitors and other patch-based medical devices.
Display Screens
Flexible OLED and LCD displays are being incorporated in foldable smartphones with screens that can bend and adapt to different form factors. Flexible edge-to-edge displays without bezels are also gaining traction. Further advances could enable fully rollable displays in the future.
Internet of Things (IoT) Devices
With the rise of IoT, there is a growing need for low-cost, lightweight and environmentally friendly electronic tags, sensors and smart labels for tracking and monitoring various objects and infrastructure. Flexible electronics are a natural fit here due to their form factor advantages and manufacturing scalability.
Automotive and Transportation
Functional décor, wraparound dash displays, flexible lighting and automated smart labels are some automotive applications under development. In transportation, flexible sensors could enable structural health monitoring of bridges, aircrafts and other civil infrastructure.
Challenges and Future Outlook
While promising considerable advantages, flexible electronic systems also pose major technological challenges especially in terms of reliability over bending cycles, stretchability, environmental stability and production costs. Additional innovations are required to advance bending endurance, stretchable interconnects, encapsulation methods and manufacturing yields. High refractive index materials, 3D printed structures and stretchable batteries/antennas will expand design flexibility. Integration of functional materials like quantum dots could enable flexible displays, solar cells and other flexible optoelectronics. Overall, flexible hybrid electronics industry is set for strong growth addressing many technological and human factors needs with estimates projecting a $50+ billion market by 2030. Flexible technology will continue merging into diverse areas revolutionizing how we interface with devices and the world around us.
This concludes our comprehensive look at the fast-emerging field of flexible electronics – its background, manufacturing developments, applications and future directions. Flex circuits are demonstrating their capacity to enhance form factors, functionality and user experience across many industries in both consumer and industrial products. Significant advancements over the next decade will see flexible hybrid systems making their way into our daily lives in novel ways that were difficult to envision even a few years ago. Undoubtedly, flexible electronics will play a defining role in shaping the future of the electronic industry.
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- Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
- We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
