Issue Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. Volume 46, Number 1, April 2009 International Symposium on Flexible Organic Electronics (IS-FOE) Article Number 12507 Number of page(s) 4 Section Topical Issue International Symposium on Flexible Organic Electronics (IS-FOE) DOI 10.1051/epjap/2009020 Published online 05 March 2009

Eur. Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 46, 12507 (2009)
DOI: 10.1051/epjap/2009020

Demonstration of a new technology which allows direct sensor integration on flexible substrates

A. Petropoulos¹, D. Goustouridis¹, T. Speliotes² and G. Kaltsas<sup>1, 3

1</sup>  Institute of Microelectronics NCSR Demokritos, Athens, Greece
²  Institute of Materials Science NCSR Demokritos, Athens, Greece
³  Department of Electronics, TEI of Athens, Aegaleo, Greece

G.Kaltsas@ee.teiath.gr

Received: 20 October 2008 / Accepted: 5 Janvier 2009 / Published online: 5 March 2009

Abstract
In this work we present a fabrication method for developing thermal sensors on flexible organic substrates. The constructed devices consist of Pt resistors which are directly integrated to the copper tracks of a flexible copper-clad laminate. They reside on top of a 12 m thick SU-8 planarization layer, while a sacrificial layer utilized by the negative photoresist ma-N was used in order to define the resistor pattern. The resistors can act as both heating and temperature sensing elements, while due to small thickness and the low thermal conductivity of the Kapton substrate, a very effective thermal isolation is achieved. The minimum radius of curvature of the fabricated devices was found to be 5 mm. As the device is in direct communication to the macrowolrd, the need for wire bonding is eliminated, while the final surface of the produced sensor is relatively planar. The overall process is simple and cost-effective with minimal requirements in fabrication time. The potential application field of the presented devices is considered quite extensive as they can be directly expanded into flexible sensors able to measure quantities such as fluid flow rate, displacement or vacuum.

PACS
85.40.Xx - Hybrid microelectronics; thick films.
07.10.Cm - Micromechanical devices and systems.
85.40.Ls - Metallization, contacts, interconnects; device isolation.

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