Recently, a technical team from Shenzhen Vocational and Technical College (hereinafter referred to as “Shenzhen Vocational and Technical College”) successfully overcame the technical difficulties of stretchable flexible circuits and made positive contributions to stretchable technology in the display field. It is reported that the team is composed of more than ten students from the stretchable flexible circuit board research group of the School of Electronic and Communication Engineering at Shenzhen Vocational College.

The inspiration for the project came from an experiment. Most of the team members are from electronic information engineering technology and integrated circuit technology majors. In addition to attending classes, they will also participate in the research project experiments of the Institute of Key Materials for Integrated Circuits of the university, so as to better understand theoretical knowledge and enhance understanding of integrated circuit industry in practice. During the experiment, team members discovered the possibility of using liquid metal to manufacture stretchable flexible circuits.

According to project leader Ju Yongfu, the team found in early market research that there are three main pain points for flexible circuit boards on the market: firstly, they cannot adapt to complex shapes, and are difficult to bend or even stretch high; Secondly, poor durability and mechanical strength; Thirdly, traditional production processes are complex and have high manufacturing costs.

Based on this, the team continuously optimizes the stretchability and conductivity of flexible circuit boards by combining their own innovative concepts and professional technology, and combines self-healing technology to significantly improve the conductivity stability of circuits and extend product life. The circuit board developed by the team has three major highlights: stretchability, self-healing, and low-cost, making it an innovative achievement in the field of flexible circuit boards. At present, the team has been granted 5 patents and is currently reviewing 10 patents, including the preparation of conductive materials, circuit board preparation, and successful application cases, which have broad application prospects and market potential.

In the future, Ju Yongfu plans to establish a company with project partners to explore the commercial application of stretchable flexible circuit boards. They will also provide feedback to their alma mater, jointly build practical bases with vocational colleges, jointly cultivate students in related majors, promote cooperation between schools and enterprises, promote the development of the flexible electronic industry, and truly achieve the integration of industry and education, science and education.