Fabrication and characterization of conductive polymer coated silicone elastomer contact structure for application of woven electronic sheet devices

This paper reports on a novel fabrication process and the characterization of an electrical contact structure made of a conductive polymer and elastomer for application to woven flexible sheet device technology. The structure can be fabricated by reel-to-reel continuous fiber processing because it is formed using just die-coating and dispensing techniques. The height of the structure can be easily controlled by changing the emulsion volume that drops onto the cable. The resistance between the structure and a PEDOT : PSS coated PET ribbon remained nearly unchanged until 1.2×10⁵ times load repetitions with a force of 4 N (∼100 MPa). From the resistance measurements in the bending radius range of 1 to 10 cm using fiexible sheets formed by weaving a PET ribbon cable, the structure enhances the durability, fiexibility, and stability of the electrical contacts in the woven-sheet devices better than those of the ribbons without it.