Transfer printing of GMR sensing elements for curved electronics

During last years, touchless interaction between human beings and environments is attracting more and more attentions [1,2]. This opens a request for integration of electronic structures into more complex curved, flexible, or even living organism substrates for skin-like electronics, wearable health monitoring devices, virtual reality etc. Sensors based on giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect are widely considered as a workhorse to address this demand. However, the fabrication of GMR multi-layer elements face many limitations (e.g., inappropriate to substrates with curved and/or rough surfaces) due to the layer thickness dependence of performance [3].
Here, we propose a transfer technique, which allows to overcome the aforementioned limitations. We demonstrate that a high-performance sensing elements can be transferred from flat polymer-based donor substrates to variable receiver surfaces with little loss of GMR performance (figure 1). Furthermore, such technique does not require any substrate deformation, temporary carriers or high-temperature processing methods, what prevents device damage.
During last years, touchless interaction between human beings and environments is attracting more and more attentions [1,2]. This opens a request for integration of electronic structures into more complex curved, flexible, or even living organism substrates for skin-like electronics, wearable health monitoring devices, virtual reality etc. Sensors based on giant magnetoresistance (GMR) effect are widely considered as a workhorse to address this demand. However, the fabrication of GMR multi-layer elements face many limitations (e.g., inappropriate to substrates with curved and/or rough surfaces) due to the layer thickness dependence of performance [3].
Here, we propose a transfer technique, which allows to overcome the aforementioned limitations. We demonstrate that a high-performance sensing elements can be transferred from flat polymer-based donor substrates to variable receiver surfaces with little loss of GMR performance (figure 1). Furthermore, such technique does not require any substrate deformation, temporary carriers or high-temperature processing methods, what prevents device damage

References

[1] M. Ha, et al. Advanced Materials 33.12 (2021)
[2] P. Makushko et al. Advanced Functional Materials 31.25 (2021)
[3] A. Paul et al. Journal of physics: condensed matter 15.17 (2003)