Fabrication of Simultaneously Implementing “Wired Face-Up and Face-Down Ultrathin Piezoresistive Si Chips” on a Film Substrate by Screen-Offset Printing

Abstract

We realized the implementation of an ultrathin piezoresistive Si chip and stretchable printed wires on a flexible film substrate using simple screen-offset printing technology. This process does not require a special MEMS fabrication equipment and is applicable to face-up chips where electrodes are formed on the top surface of the chip, as well as to face-down chips where electrodes are formed on the bottom surface of the chip. This fabrication process is quite useful in the field of flexible hybrid electronics (FHE) as a method for mounting and wiring electronic components on a flexible substrate. In this study, we confirmed that face-up and face-down chips could be mounted on polyimide film tape. Furthermore, it was confirmed that the two types of chips could be simultaneously mounted even if they exist on the same substrate. Five-μm-thick piezoresistive Si chips were transferred and wired on a polyimide film tape using screen-offset printing, and a band-plaster type blood pulse sensor was fabricated. Moreover, we successfully demonstrated that the blood pulse could be measured with neck, inner elbow, wrist, and ankle.