Liquid Wire Delivers Best-in-Class Performance in NextFlex Study of Printed Stretchable Conductor Systems

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Liquid Wire Inc. announced that it has joined the NextFlex community whose mission it is to advance U.S. manufacturing of Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) by fostering technology innovation and commercialization. The current NextFlex project to identify reliable stretchable conductor systems utilizes Liquid Wire's proprietary elastic Metal Gel circuit and conductor technologies to exceed the project goals of 100% stretch for more than 10,000 cycles.

"We are delighted that Liquid Wire has joined the NextFlex member community," said Malcolm J. Thompson, NextFlex Executive Director. "Our membership spans the entire flexible hybrid electronics manufacturing ecosystem, and it's important that we have strong representation from all sectors and particularly from the materials companies that are so important to the success of the manufacturing process. Liquid Wire brings unique experience and capabilities that will help propel the community toward the commercialization of products in many of the market segments in which NextFlex focuses its development programs such as medical wearables and structural health monitoring systems. We look forward to strong collaboration with the team from Liquid Wire."

Over the past year, Liquid Wire has been collaborating on a NextFlex project (PC5.2a) led by Binghamton University. This effort, whose objective is to deliver a comprehensive mechanical and electrical database (DC and RF characterization) on stretchable conductor systems, was the catalyst for Liquid Wire's joining NextFlex. Functional samples will also be available to all NextFlex members. The next phase of the project will involve RF performance with similar stretch cyclic goals.

"The Center for Advanced Microelectronics Manufacturing (CAMM) at Binghamton University is delighted to have the opportunity to work with Liquid Wire's Metal Gel technology as part of a NextFlex program on highly stretchable conductors. Optimized combinations of conductors and substrates are core to performance and reliability of flexible hybrid electronic devices. The results from these mechanical and electrical studies will contribute to understanding design applications where low, stable resistances are required at high strains. Initial testing of Liquid Wire strain sensors demonstrates fatigue free performance through tens of thousands of strain cycles. Their Metal Gel sensors exhibit linear response in conductivity to changes in length and do not suffer from hysteresis," stated Mark Poliks, CAMM Director. "To date, this represents best-in-class performance."