An ultra-thin and highly flexible multilayer Printed Circuit Board based on Parylene

Abstract

Following the current trends towards Industry 4.0 and the Internet of Things, flexible electronics and sensors are a key enabling technology for the realization of wearables and geometry adaptive devices. Within this study, we present a new approach for the fabrication of an ultra-thin and highly flexible printed circuit board (PCB), featuring multiple metallization layers and a thickness of < 20 μm only. Doing so, the polymer Parylene served as substrate material, as dielectric between the metallization layers as well as for the encapsulation and protection. Within this paper, the concept of this new approach as well as different options for the fabrication technologies and possible applications are presented in detail. Finally, the fabricated Parylene based ultra-thin flexible PCB was characterized mechanically and electrically.