Novel Microfabrication

Inkjet-printed electronics is of great interest for low-cost, large-area fabrication thanks to fast and scalable processes with low material consumption. However, notable resources are currently required for fine-tuning layout designs and process parameters to prevent unintended fabrication artifacts. We propose the use of electronic design automation to mitigate such artifacts by segmenting input layouts and arranging the resulting objects in separate conflict-free layers. We apply mixed-integer-linear programming to formally model the problem and minimize the total number of layers with respect to avoiding potential printing problems. We demonstrate a more consistent fabrication outcome and significantly increased yields for optimized fabrication batches compared to non-optimized ones. The final processing of the layouts requires no human intervention and can readily be transferred to a variety of ink-substrate systems.

Publications

  • Zhang, Yushen; Tseng, Tsun-Ming; Schlichtmann, Ulf: ColoriSens: An open-source and low-cost portable color sensor board for microfluidic integration with wireless communication and fluorescence detection. HardwareX 11, 2022 more…
  • Zhang, Yushen; Tseng, Tsun-Ming; Schlichtmann, Ulf: Portable All-in-One Automated Microfluidic System (PAMICON) with 3D-Printed Chip Using Novel Fluid Control Mechanism. Nature Portfolio Scientific Reports 11, 2021 more…
  • Tseng, Tsun-Ming; Lian, Meng; Li, Mengchu; Rinklin, Philipp; Grob, Leroy; Wolfrum, Bernhard; Schlichtmann, Ulf: Manufacturing Cycle-Time Optimization Using Gaussian Drying Model for Inkjet-Printed Electronics. IEEE/ACM International Conference on Computer-Aided Design (ICCAD), 2021 more…
  • Rinklin, Philipp; Tseng, Tsun-Ming; Liu, Cai; Li, Mengchu; Terkan, Korkut; Grob, Leroy; Adly, Nouran; Zips, Sabine; Weiß, Lennart; Schlichtmann, Ulf; Wolfrum, Bernhard: Electronic Design Automation for Increased Robustness in Inkjet-Printed Electronics. Flexible and Printed Electronics, 2019 more…