Evaluation of the curvature reliability of polymer flexible meta electronic devices based on variations of the electrical properties

Abstract

As wireless communication devices become more common, interests in how to control the electromagnetic waves generated from the devices are increasing. One of the most commonly used electromagnetic wave control materials is magnetic one, but due to the features that make the product heavy and thick when applied to the product, it is difficult to use them in curved electronic devices. Therefore, a polymer flexible meta electronic device has been presented to sort out the problem, which is thin and can have various curvatures. However, it requires an additional evaluation of curvature reliability. In this study, we developed a method to predict electromagnetic wave control characteristics through the resistance/length of the conductive ink line patterns of polymer flexible meta electronic devices, which is inversely proportional to the electromagnetic wave control characteristics. As the radius of curvature decreased, the resistance/length increased, and there was little variations with the duration times of curvature. We also found that both permanent and recoverable changes along with the removal of curvature were occurred when the curvature was applied, and that the cause of these changes was newly created vertical cracks in the conductive ink line pattern due to the tensile stress applied by applying curvature. © 2021, Korean Society of Industrial Engineering Chemistry. All rights reserved.