Metallic gold thin film micropattern on polydimethylsiloxane film for flexible electronic sensors and circuits

Abstract

This work illustrates the importance as well as major challenges related to the development of malleable metallic Au thin film micropattern on soft elastomeric film and then presents a fabrication technique to overcome these challenges for developing reliable, flexible electronic sensors and circuits. A self-assembled molecular adhesive layer has been introduced between the polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and the thin metal film to increase the adhesion and then analyzed the multilayer structure. The contact angle measurement showed that the introduction (3-mercaptopropyl) trimethoxysilane (MPTMS) molecular adhesive layer increases the hydrophilicity of the PDMS film for a more extended period and Au film on MPTMS coated PDMS shows superior film quality. The random buckles formed on the thin Au film have been successively manipulated using controlled heating after micropatterning. The SEM analysis of the Au thin film confirmed that the deposited film is granular and filled with nanogaps. The electrical characterization of the deposited showed that the sheet resistance of the metal thin is higher compared to the Au thin film on Si surface. This investigation is beneficial for realizing reliable, flexible electronic devices and circuits on soft polymer.