Electrical Properties of Thiol-ene-based Shape Memory Polymers Intended for Flexible Electronics
by
Christopher L. Frewin 1, Melanie Ecker 2,*
, Alexandra Joshi-Imre 2, Jonathan Kamgue 1, Jeanneane Waddell 1, Vindhya Reddy Danda 1, Allison M. Stiller 1, Walter E. Voit 2 and Joseph J. Pancrazio 1
Christopher L. Frewin 1, Melanie Ecker 2,*, Alexandra Joshi-Imre 2, Jonathan Kamgue 1, Jeanneane Waddell 1, Vindhya Reddy Danda 1, Allison M. Stiller 1, Walter E. Voit 2 and Joseph J. Pancrazio 1
1
Department of Bioengineering, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
2
Center for Engineering Innovation, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX 75080, USA
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Polymers 2019, 11(5), 902; https://doi.org/10.3390/polym11050902
Received: 15 April 2019 / Revised: 9 May 2019 / Accepted: 15 May 2019 / Published: 17 May 2019
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Polymers for Electronic Applications)
Thiol-ene/acrylate-based shape memory polymers (SMPs) with tunable mechanical and thermomechanical properties are promising substrate materials for flexible electronics applications. These UV-curable polymer compositions can easily be polymerized onto pre-fabricated electronic components and can be molded into desired geometries to provide a shape-changing behavior or a tunable softness. Alternatively, SMPs may be prepared as a flat substrate, and electronic circuitry may be built directly on top by thin film processing technologies. Whichever way the final structure is produced, the operation of electronic circuits will be influenced by the electrical and mechanical properties of the underlying (and sometimes also encapsulating) SMP substrate. Here, we present electronic properties, such as permittivity and resistivity of a typical SMP composition that has a low glass transition temperature (between 40 and 60 °C dependent on the curing process) in different thermomechanical states of polymer. We fabricated parallel plate capacitors from a previously reported SMP composition (fully softening (FS)-SMP) using two different curing processes, and then we determined the electrical properties of relative permittivity and resistivity below and above the glass transition temperature. Our data shows that the curing process influenced the electrical permittivity, but not the electrical resistivity. Corona-Kelvin metrology evaluated the quality of the surface of FS-SMP spun on the wafer. Overall, FS-SMP demonstrates resistivity appropriate for use as an insulating material.
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Keywords:
Polymer; Dielectric; Resistivity; Permittivity; Curing; Corona-Kelvin
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MDPI and ACS Style
Frewin, C.L.; Ecker, M.; Joshi-Imre, A.; Kamgue, J.; Waddell, J.; Danda, V.R.; Stiller, A.M.; Voit, W.E.; Pancrazio, J.J. Electrical Properties of Thiol-ene-based Shape Memory Polymers Intended for Flexible Electronics. Polymers 2019, 11, 902.
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