Self-assembling bilayer wiring with highly conductive liquid metal and insulative ion gel layers

Abstract

Ga-based liquid metals (LMs) are expected to be suitable for wiring highly deformable devices because of their high electrical conductivity and stable resistance to extreme deformation. Injection and printed wiring, and wiring using LM–polymer composites are the most popular LM wiring approaches. However, additional processing is required to package the wiring after LM patterning, branch and interrupt wiring shape, and ensure adequate conductivity, which results in unnecessary wiring shape changes and increased complexity of the wiring methods. In this study, we propose an LM–polymer composite comprising LM particles and ion gel as a flexible matrix material with low viscosity and specific gravity before curing. Moreover, the casting method is used for wire patterning, and the material is cured at room temperature to ensure that the upper insulative layer of the ion gel self-assembles simultaneously with the formation of LM wiring in the lower layer. High conductivity and low resistance change rate of the formed wiring during deformation are achieved without an activation process. This ion gel–LM bilayer wiring can be used for three-dimensional wiring by stacking. Furthermore, circuits fabricated using ion gel–LM bilayer wiring exhibit stable operation. Therefore, the proposed method can significantly promote the development of flexible electronic devices.