Laser Micromachining of NANOCOMPOSITE-BASED Flexible Embedded Capacitors

There has been increasing interest in the development of electronic circuits on flexible substrates to meet the growing demand for low-cost, large-area, flexible and lightweight devices, such as roll-up displays, e-papers and keyboards, etc. Flexible circuits are often used as connectors in various applications where flexibility, space savings or production constraints limit the serviceability of rigid circuit boards. Recently, much attention has been paid to Q-switched Nd:YAG laser-micromachining for MEMS/microsystems applications due to a number of advantages. The present study describes a novel process that uses a computer controlled Nd:YAG laser system to create complex 3D micromachined embedded capacitors. Nanocomposite-based embedded capacitors deserve special attention as they provide the greatest potential benefit for high-density, high-speed and low-voltage IC chip packaging. There are novel barium titanate (BaTiO3)-epoxy-based polymer nanocomposites that have the potential to surpass conventional composites in producing thin-film capacitors over large surface areas with high capacitance density and low loss. Laser micromachining is important for generating high-resolution patterns.