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Effect of twisting fatigue on the electrical reliability of a metal interconnect on a flexible substrate

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Abstract

To secure the reliability of flexible electronics, the effect of multicomponent stress on the device properties during complex mechanical deformation needs to be thoroughly understood. The electrical resistances of metal interconnects are investigated by in situ monitoring at different twisting angles and with different pattern positions. As the twisting angle increased, the electrical resistance increased earlier. Furthermore, in the line pattern located far from the central axis, severe electrical degradation and fatigue damage formation were observed. Multicomponent stress evolution during twisting was analyzed by the finite-element simulation method. For easy practical application for estimating the representative twisting strain, an analytic solution of twisting deformation was formulated and compared with the simulation. Using the equivalent strain, the fatigue lifetime was fitted, and the exponents were obtained for lifetime expectation. This systematic study provides the guidelines for highly reliable flexible devices and the tools for determining the expected fatigue lifetime.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This research was supported by “Development of Interconnection System and Process for Flexible Three Dimensional Heterogeneous Devices” funded by MOTIE (Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy) and National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Korea Government (MSIP; Ministry of Science, ICT & Future Planning) (No. 2017R1C1B5017889) in Korea.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Materials Science & Engineering, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Jung-Kwon Yang, Young-Joo Lee & Young-Chang Joo

  2. Research Institute of Advanced Materials, Seoul National University, Seoul, 08826, Korea

    Seol-Min Yi

  3. School of Materials Science and Engineering, Andong National University, Andong, Gyeongbuk-do, 36729, Korea

    Byoung-Joon Kim

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  1. Jung-Kwon Yang
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  2. Young-Joo Lee
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Correspondence to Byoung-Joon Kim or Young-Chang Joo.

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Yang, JK., Lee, YJ., Yi, SM. et al. Effect of twisting fatigue on the electrical reliability of a metal interconnect on a flexible substrate. Journal of Materials Research 33, 138–148 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1557/jmr.2017.422

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