Effect of packing density on maximum stretch ratio of stretchable wavy circuit

Abstract

A wavy circuit is one of the structures used in flexible devices, which endure high stretch ratios during operation. In this study, we focus on the importance of the section tilting angle of the wavy circuit. Both simulation and experiment reveal that the plane wavy circuit is highly affected by the buckling of the circuit, and buckling is influenced by the gap between circuits. On the other hand, the buckling effect tends to decrease when the tilting angle of the circuit section increases. We conclude that increasing the tilting angle of the wavy circuit provides an advantage in designing a flexible device that nullifies the gap-buckling tendency of the wavy circuit, and gives extra margin in the design process.