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a) GaN‐based flexible LED. Reproduced under terms of the CC‐BY licence.70 Copyright 2016, The Authors, published by Springer Nature. b) Scheme of epitaxial lift‐off process flow. c) optical image of lifted‐off ELO foil from GaN bulk substrate. b,c) Reproduced with permission.37 Copyright 2017, Wiley‐VCH.
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Monitoring, measuring, and controlling electronic systems in space exploration, automotive industries, downhole oil and gas industries, marine environment, geothermal power plants, etc., require materials and processes that can withstand harsh environments. Such harshness can come from the surrounding temperature, varying pressure, intense radiatio...
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Citations
... Future research should focus on developing a framework that integrates DMA data with other material properties, provides standardized guidelines for material evaluation, and incorporates predictive modeling techniques to enhance decision-making (Ezatpour, et al., 2016) [16] . Such a framework would enable engineers to select the most appropriate materials for their specific applications, leading to more efficient designs, reduced costs, and improved performance in high-performance engineering systems (Almuslem, Shaikh & Hussain, 2019, Bullen, 2014) [2,6] . In conclusion, while DMA has proven to be a valuable tool in understanding the mechanical properties of materials, there remains a significant gap in its application to the material selection process for high-performance engineering applications. ...
Dynamic Mechanical Analysis (DMA) is a powerful technique for assessing the viscoelastic properties of materials, providing critical insights into their performance under various conditions. This study develops a theoretical framework for DMA in material selection for high-performance engineering applications. The framework integrates fundamental principles of DMA with practical considerations for selecting materials that meet the demanding requirements of advanced engineering fields, including aerospace, automotive, and electronics. Theoretical aspects of DMA, such as storage modulus, loss modulus, and damping ratio, are explored in detail, illustrating how these parameters correlate with material performance, durability, and stability under dynamic loading conditions. The framework emphasizes the importance of understanding the temperature, frequency, and strain rate dependence of material behavior in predicting their suitability for specific applications. The study also examines the role of DMA in identifying phase transitions, such as glass transition and crystallization, which are crucial for assessing material performance in environments with fluctuating thermal and mechanical stresses. Furthermore, the framework incorporates data from experimental DMA studies, applying these results to real-world engineering scenarios to demonstrate the utility of DMA in material selection. The theoretical framework proposes a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) approach for integrating DMA results with other material properties, such as strength, toughness, and fatigue resistance, to provide a holistic material selection process. Case studies are included to showcase the practical application of the framework in the selection of polymers, composites, and metals for high-performance engineering applications. By bridging the gap between DMA theory and material selection, this study contributes to the development of more efficient, reliable, and durable materials for critical engineering applications.
... In practice, their integration is problematic because of mechanical stresses that are encountered in the process of manufacturing, operation, and environmental exposure. In order to ensure durability and long-term performance, the responsiveness of TCO films to mechanical stresses-including bending, stretching, and compression-is being studied, together with environmental conditions, such as fluctuations in temperature and humidity [11]. It is generally important to simulate reality under controlled experimental conditions in order to understand and improve TCO films' reliability in flexible systems [12]. ...
This work investigates the endurance and performance of aluminum-doped zinc oxide (AZO) thin films fabricated on flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates, providing new insights into their degradation linked to mechanical flexing and accelerated thermal cycling (ATC). The current study uniquely combines cyclic bending fatigue at 23 °C and 70 °C with ATC between 0 °C and 100 °C, simulating operational stresses in real-world environments, in contrast to previous research that has focused primarily on either isolated mechanical or thermal effects. The 425 nm thick films showed high transparency and conductivity, making them suitable materials for flexible electronics and optoelectronic devices. In this work, electrical resistivity, one of the most important performance parameters, was investigated after each mechanical or thermal cycle. The results indicate that mechanical cycling at high temperatures can drastically enhance the crack formation and electrical degradation, with an over 250% change in the electrical resistance (PCER) after 12,000 cycles at 70 °C and more than 300% after 500 thermal cycles. The highly deleterious effects of combined stressors on the structural integrity and electrical properties of AZO films are underlined by these observations. This study further suggests that the design of more robust AZO-based materials/coatings would contribute toward achieving better durability in flexible electronic applications. These findings also go hand in glove with the ninth goal of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, specifically Target 9.5: Enhance Research and Upgrade Industrial Technologies.
... In order to improve the device performance, the joint use of Aerosol Jet Printing (AJP) and flash lamp annealing (FLA) technologies was recently investigated for carbon electrodes deposition. AJP is a versatile technique capable to print on both rigid and flexible, both planar and 3D substrates, evidencing reduced production costs, being able to use a variety of materials and to miniaturize sensors and circuits [23], [24]. FLA exploits light pulse to obtain fast thermal transients (with duration of the order of ms) that are compatible with temperature sensitive materials, such as plastics and paper [25] [26]. ...
Smart packaging technologies have been increasingly developed to monitor and control food spoilage, ensuring food safety and quality throughout the supply chain. In this work we consider a flexible, low cost sensor based on hygroscopic properties of cellulose fibers for the detection of water-soluble gases produced from the degradation of amino acids in protein rich food like fish and meat. Ammonia and ammonia-related compounds such as dimethylamine and trimethylamine have gained increasing attention as volatile markers of the spoilage process, but, owing to the complexity of a food matrix, technology validation requires testing with odors released by food samples instead of individual or a few marker compounds. Here we realized carbon electrodes by Aerosol Jet Printing, with subsequent annealing at room temperature by flash lamp annealing, necessary to avoid cellulose substrate damaging. Subsequently, the sensors were tested in real environment with codfish fillet and cross-checked with conventional microbiological tests to assess the reaching of edibility threshold of the fish at room temperature. The sensors lodged in the food package were compared with sensors lodged in the reference package containing distilled water. The developed technology confirmed that it is possible to monitor fish degradation along the reaching and overpassing of the edibility threshold (mean sensors’ relative response is 50% at 10
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CFU/g) after 11 hours at 25°C, with a low-cost disposable device that can be integrated into food packaging.
... While sensors often perform optimally under controlled laboratory conditions, their true efficacy is determined by their ability to function efficiently in practical environmental contexts. Flexible sensors exhibit exceptional resilience and adaptability, rendering them indispensable for operation in harsh environments [101]. Their durability withstands mechanical stress, vibrations, and impacts, while chemical resistance ensures longevity in environments laden with corrosive substances. ...
This review article comprehensively explores the electrochemical detection of organophosphate-based agents, including warfare agents, pesticides, and simulants. It provides an in-depth analysis of their molecular structures, emphasizing the inherent toxicity and environmental risks posed by these compounds. The review highlights the significant role of flexible sensors in facilitating the electrochemical detection of organophosphate-based agents, offering insights into their design, development, and application in detection methodologies. Additionally, the article critically evaluates the challenges encountered in this field, such as sensor sensitivity and sample complexity, and discusses potential solutions to address these challenges. Furthermore, it outlines the future scope and opportunities for advancement in electrochemical detection technologies, including the integration of novel materials and the exploration of innovative detection strategies. By synthesizing current research findings and identifying future research directions, this review contributes to the ongoing discourse on the detection and mitigation of organophosphate-based agents’ risks to human health and the environment.
... [42][43][44] In addition to this issue, unstable material properties such as bandgap energy, interatomic bonding, breakdown field, carrier mobility, crystal structures, mechanical properties, and existing defects can also restrict the use of TENG in harsh environments. 49,50 Moreover, exposure to high temperatures can cause damage to the mechanical stability and effective defects in most tribo-materials, resulting in a further reduction in TENG's effective output power. 42,51 Therefore, it is essential to consider structural durability and electrical output stability when applying TENG technology in challenging working environments. ...
... 31 High temperatures not only induce changes in the dielectric constant of tribo-materials, which are closely linked to TENG's output performance, 31,74 but also have the potential to cause structural and mechanical instability as well as material defects in most tribo-materials. 75,76 As presented Figure 4I-M, exposure to elevated temperatures can result in unstable material properties, compromised mechanical durability and effective defects of most tribo-materials, 4,31,42,[49][50][51] thereby further diminishing the TENG's power output efficiency. In conclusion, the impact of high temperature on the output performance of TENGs needs to take into account multiple factors, including the surface charge density of tribo-materials, storage, and dissipation mechanisms for tribocharges, dielectric constant, structural stability, mechanical stability, and wear resistance. ...
The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) offers a novel approach to harness mechanical energy continuously and sustainably. It has emerged as a leading technology for converting mechanical energy into electricity. The demand for self‐powered wearable microelectronics and energy generation in extreme conditions underscores the need for efficient high‐temperature operatable TENGs (HTO‐TENGs). However, the operating environment temperature not only affects the storage and dissipation of electrons during triboelectrification, leading to decreased output performance of TENG and instability at high temperatures, but also damage to the mechanical stability and effective defects in most tribo‐materials, resulting in a further reduction in TENG's effective output power. Moreover, the unstable material properties of the triboelectric layer at high temperatures also restrict the use of the TENG in harsh environments. Therefore, it is imperative to consider the structural durability and electrical output stability of TENG when applying it in challenging working environments. This review aims to bridge this gap by providing a comprehensive overview of the current state and research advancements in HTO‐TENG for the first time. Finally, this review presents insights into future research prospects and proposes design strategies to facilitate the rapid development of the field.
... This facilitates efficient, cost-effective production of complex micro-nano scale components. Electric field-driven jet deposition micro-nano 3D printing technology has been initially applied in various fields, including transparent electrode, transparent electric heating [18], transparent electromagnetic shielding [19], porous tissue scaffolds [20], conformal surface structures [21], and flexible electronics [22]. For example, Peng et al. successfully employed electric field-driven jet deposition 3D printing technology to fabricate a PCL thin-wall tubular grid structure, demonstrating the feasibility of printing polymer vascular stent microstructure with this technology [23]. ...
... I. INTRODUCTION 1 ith increased development, direct-write additive manufacturing (AM) techniques have the potential to revolutionize the low-volume fabrication of sensors and instrumentation that require specialized design requirements for harsh environment sensing [1]. Current commercial-offthe-shelf (COTS) devices are manufactured to accommodate the shared design needs of sensors (elevated temperature stability, resistance to electrical interference, etc.); however, the COTS devices forego the additional unique, extreme environmental factors that can limit their reliable usage in any application field (aerospace, nuclear energy, etc.) [2]. AM can offset these limitations by facilitating the fabrication of sensors with both designs and materials that can be tailored and rapidly prototyped to fit the application requirements (size limitation, materials compatibility, etc.) [3,4]. ...
... The printed films were sintered in a benchtop muffle furnace (Thermo Scientific Thermolyne) in air following fabrication with a heating/cooling rate of 5 °C/min. in the following conditions: (1) and (3) were selected as a weaker adhered and higher density film [21], respectively, from the baseline sintering condition (2). A total of 18 and 11 samples (i.e., printed square film) were tested using laser spallation and pull-off adhesion, respectively, for each of the three sintering conditions. ...
The successful adoption of additive manufacturing for the rapid prototyping of direct-write printed electronics requires the establishment of quantifiable metrics. These metrics should directly interrogate the fabrication quality of the device during the manufacturing process. This implies that the characterization technique should be nondestructive. One measure of fabrication performance is the adhesion strength between the substrate and printed film interface, which is critical since the strength of this interface can dictate the accuracy and reliability of the printed device. In this work, a non-contact laser-induced spallation technique has been used to estimate the adhesion of silver printed films on aluminum alloy substrates. The laser-based method was compared to a standardized pull-off adhesion test, which provided baseline measurements of adhesion strength. These adhesion measurement techniques were compared against the sintering condition-dependent microstructure of the AM films. The porous structure of the printed thin film was found to be an important factor that impacted adhesion tests that utilize adhesives (i.e., glue, resins) due to an enhanced interlocking to the adherend surface. Due to its non-contact nature and insensitivity to thin samples/films, laser spallation was found to be a more reliable indication of process parameter change. The methods and results described in this work support the establishment of process control steps that are necessary for quickly verifying the reliability of printed devices prior to their deployment in critical experiments.
... These types of devices are developed at the level of bendable substrates (e.g., polymers and/or paper) on top of which one or multiple layers of functional printed materials are patterned via printing techniques (e.g., screen printing, ink-jet, flexography, gravure) [7]. Despite being cost-efficient from a manufacturing viewpoint, flexible electronics have the disadvantage of being developed on very economical polymeric substrates (e.g., polyesters) [8], materials that are susceptible to rapid degradation when operating in extreme or harsh working conditions (e.g., high temperature) [9]. To address this disadvantage, fluoropolymers were considered potential candidates for developing flexible electronics for operating within severe working environments. ...
Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is a potential candidate for the fabrication of flexible electronics devices and electronics with applications in various extreme environments, mainly due to its outstanding chemical and physical properties. However, to date, the utilization of PTFE in printing trials has been limited due to the material’s low surface tension and wettability, which do not ensure good adhesion of the printing ink at the level of the substrate. Within this paper, successful printing of PTFE is realized after pre-treating the surface of the substrate with the help of dielectric barrier discharge non-thermal plasma. The efficiency of the pre-treatment is demonstrated with respect to both silver- and carbon-based inks that are commercially available, and finally, the long-lasting pre-treatment effect is demonstrated for periods of time spanning from minutes to days. The experimental results are practically paving the way toward large-scale utilization of PTFE as substrate in fabricating printed electronics in harsh working environments. After 3 s of plasma treatment of the foil, the WCA decreased from approximately 103° to approximately 70°. The resolution of the printed lines of carbon ink was not time dependent and was unmodified, even if the printing was realized within 1 min from the time of applying the pre-treatment or 10 days later. The evaluation of the surface tension (σ) measured with Arcotest Ink Pink showed an increase in σ up to 40 < σ < 42 mN/m for treated Teflon foil and from σ < 30 mN/m corresponding to the untreated substrate. The difference in resolution was distinguishable when increasing the width of the printed lines from 500 μm to 750 μm, but when increasing the width from 750 μm to 1000 μm, the difference was minimal.
... Our selected state of the art discussion of electronic and mechatronic sensors is about optomechatronic systems [45][46][47][48], printed and flexible electronics [49][50][51][52], gas sensors [53,54], sensor network systems [55][56][57][58][59][60], and other sensors applied in different production processes such as food and agriculture; and manufacturing processes such as drilling, milling and cutting [61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71]. Perspectives in Industry 5.0 frameworks involve the possibility of integrating different technologies into a unique platform, and adopting spatially adaptable electronic components for specific production plants. ...
... Adoption of stretchable electronic circuits suitable for harsh environments [50] Combination and simultaneous processing of data acquired from different production environments to find correlations that optimize quality. ...
This review will focus on advances in electronic and optoelectronic technologies by through the analysis of a full research and industrial application scenario. Starting with the analysis of nanocomposite sensors, and electronic/optoelectronic/mechatronic systems, the review describes in detail the principles and the models for finding possible implementations of Industry 5.0 applications. The study then addresses production processes and advanced detection systems integrating Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. Specifically, the review introduces new research topics in Industry 5.0 about AI self-adaptive systems and processes in electronics, robotics and production management. The paper proposes also new Business Process Modelling and Notation (BPMN) Process Mining (PM) workflows, and a simulation of a complex Industry 5.0 manufacturing framework. The performed simulation estimates the diffusion heat parameters of a hypothesized production-line layout, describing the information flux of the whole framework. The simulation enhances the technological key elements, enabling an industrial upscale in the next digital revolution. The discussed models are usable in management engineering and informatics engineering, as they merge the perspectives of advanced sensors with Industry 5.0 requirements. The goal of the paper is to provide concepts, research topics and elements to design advanced production network in manufacturing industry.
... To sustain a harsh environment while maintaining the desirable function, the conductive material of the device needs to be protected using specialized packaging techniques or encapsulation materials. [1][2][3][4] Thus, we propose encapsulating flexible electronics using a material that can withstand harsh crude oil conditions. Meanwhile, such a material can be a substrate for flexible electronics and a novel fabrication process needs to be designed. ...
... (1) Printing conductive patterns on flexible fluoroelastomer (FKM) substrates that are well known for their excellent chemical and oil resistance. (2) Examining the potential of FKM as an encapsulation material for the printed flexible electronics patterns under harsh fluid environment conditions i.e., crude oil/petroleum/hydrocarbon fluids at elevated temperatures. Generally, flexible electronics can be fabricated using various contact and non-contact printing techniques. ...
Flexible electronic devices are widely used in automobile, healthcare, space exploration, oil and gas, and marine industries, etc. Owing to the broad application areas, they are exposed to harsh environmental conditions that inhibit their stable performance. Thus, there is a need to develop flexible electronic devices that can sustain these conditions and achieve desirable performance. We developed flexible electronics for application in harsh environments involving hydrocarbon fluids at elevated temperatures. Fluoroelastomer FKM having excellent chemical resistance is used as a substrate and inkjet printing is used for its fabrication due to its ability to directly print on flexible substrates. A simple fabrication approach for flexible electronics is demonstrated via inkjet printing of silver patterns on an FKM substrate. The fabrication process involves surface pretreatment by corona treatment and multiple-layer printing with intermittent drying to overcome several challenges like surface energy mismatch, nonuniform ink deposition, and crack formation. The process was validated by comparing the actual and theoretical resistance values of the printed patterns. The printed flexible electronics are encapsulated by FKM to protect them from harsh environments. The effect of a harsh environment on the conductivity was evaluated by submerging it in hydraulic oil up to a temperature of 180 1C followed by a bending test. The results revealed a negligible change in resistance. Degradation of the silver and FKM is characterized using mass variation tests, microscopic images, and FTIR spectroscopy, which revealed negligible degradation of the flexible encapsulated patterns. The performance of FKM is compared to those of other substrates like polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) under harsh conditions; FKM was found to be an effective encapsulation material for our application. To our knowledge, no researchers have printed conductive silver patterns directly on a FKM substrate using inkjet printing and encapsulated them using FKM. This technique offers a simple solution for fabricating flexible electronics for harsh environments.
