LAUSR

Conventional rigid electronic systems use a number of metallization layers to route all necessary connections to and from isolated surface mount devices using well-established printed circuit board technology. In contrast, present solutions to prepare stretchable electronic systems are typically confined to a single stretchable metallization layer. Crossovers and vertical interconnect accesses remain challenging; consequently, no reliable stretchable printed circuit board (SPCB) method has established. This article reports an industry compatible SPCB manufacturing method that enables multilayer crossovers and vertical interconnect accesses to interconnect isolated devices within an elastomeric matrix. As a demonstration, a stretchable (260%) active matrix with integrated electronic and optoelectronic surface mount devices is shown that can deform reversibly into various 3D shapes including hemispherical, conical or pyramid. To realize multilayer stretchable printed circuit boards (SPCBs), advancements in industrially-viable materials and processing methods are required. Here, the authors report multilayer SPCBs with electrical wiring capable of interconnecting isolated devices in different layers within an elastomeric matrix.