David Savastano, Editor09.30.15
Flexible hybrid electronics have tremendous potential for a wide range of applications, including defense, and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) sees the possibilities. With that in mind, the DoD recently awarded FlexTech Alliance $75 million in federal funding over a five-year to establish and manage a Manufacturing Innovation Institute (MII) for Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE MII) n San Jose, CA.
The FHE MII includes 96 companies, 11 laboratories and non-profits, 42 universities and 14 state and regional organizations. The San Jose MII will be the first of seven such institutes, and will be overseen by the DoD’s Manufacturing Technology Program Office (ManTech).
In addition, FlexTech will more than $96 million in matching funds from San Jose, industry, universities, states and non-profits.
“Flexible electronics are already re-shaping multiple markets, with a growing demand from customers,” said Jennifer Ernst, chair of the Governing Board of FlexTech Alliance and chief strategy officer of Thin Film Electronics. “This initiative is a catalyst that ensures the US will benefit from the industry’s commercial growth, with deep supply chains, multiple product developers and integrators participating.”
Paul Semenza, director of commercialization for the FHE MII, said that theDoD has been keen to see the promise of flexible electronics fulfilled for many years and has worked with FlexTech and many other companies and institutions to get flexible demonstrators.
“However, a considerable gap has been found between demonstrable flexible electronics concepts and getting them manufactured, which has hindered the technology from volume manufacturing,” Semenza noted. “When the White House was identifying topics for their National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) initiative, DoD supported the topic of flexible electronics, and more specifically, Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE).
“A very comprehensive Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was released in February with DoD identifying $75 million in funding for the FHE MII and requiring at least 1:1 matching in industry, state and other funds,” he added. “With this amount of funding and attention, DoD concluded the Institute could fund the projects and teams to do the manufacturing development required to overcome the chasm. FlexTech began assembling a team to build a proposal for submittal in June 2015. After an extensive review and negotiation phase, FlexTech and the DoD signed a Cooperative Agreement for the FHE MII on Aug 28, 2015.”
Outside of defense applications, potential markets include consumer electronics, wearables, medical devices, automotive and more. In addition, a Flex School initiative will be developed with universities, community colleges, and trade associations.
“The Institute will concentrate its efforts on several key demonstrators – structural health monitors, health and human performance monitors, soft robotics and wide-band array systems for communications,” Semenza said. “These general application categories were judged to be useful problems to highlight the unique set of substrates, designs, materials, tools and other potential specifications of FHE technology, and which would enable a broad range of sub-applications.”
Semenza said that the FHE MII will operate in the nexus between three traditional manufacturing sectors: CMOS ICs and other semiconductor devices, printed electronics and traditional printed circuit boards. Its goal is to each manufacturing readiness within four years, as well as educating and training the workforce and seeking commercialization opportunities.
“The goal will be to create processes that are replicable for volume manufacturing of flexible hybrid electronics, meaning devices that combine printed or other flexible electronics with bulk semiconductor devices,” Semenza said. “DoD has created a scale to measure Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs) and moving the technology to Level 7 is the four-year goal of the Institute. Level 7 is commonly reached when manufacturing can create a prototype, system or subsystem in an operation and production environment.
“There are several related goals that will complement the Institute’s success in the technology area, he added. “Education and workforce training is an important element in ensuring that the work done at the Institute can be perpetuated throughout the U.S. economy in the form of a well-trained workforce. The Institute will also develop commercialization strategy in order to make the resulting manufacturing technologies widely available, as well as to develop sources of sustaining revenue for the Institute after the federal funding ends.”
Semenza said the Institute will concentrate its efforts on five key areas: creation of suitable design tools, test and reliability protocols, scale up of key materials, integration of thinned devices and device and sensor integrated printing and packaging.
“As there has been no significant manufacturing of FHE devices, all of these areas must be addressed in order to create a robust ecosystem,” he noted, adding that processes are being developed to address intellectual property considerations, conduct projects and develop education and workforce training programs.
The Army Research Labs (ARL) will serve as program manager, and the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) will serve as government chief technology officer
“There is wide interest from these agencies in the success of the Institute and the products it will enable, as well the economic benefits to US industry from the technology resulting from the Institute’s activities,” Semenza said.
Semenza added that FlexTech is looking forward to developing new opportunities with the FHE MII.
“The FlexTech Alliance is gratified to have the opportunity to apply our capabilities in management and recognition of the importance of supporting the advancements in FHE manufacturing capability,” Semenza concluded. “We have been developing and managing very similar processes to what the MII needs for many years and look forward to successfully carrying out this new program. The FlexTech Alliance has conducted more than 170 technology development agreements and has a membership that is keenly interested in helping the Institute succeed.”
The FHE MII includes 96 companies, 11 laboratories and non-profits, 42 universities and 14 state and regional organizations. The San Jose MII will be the first of seven such institutes, and will be overseen by the DoD’s Manufacturing Technology Program Office (ManTech).
In addition, FlexTech will more than $96 million in matching funds from San Jose, industry, universities, states and non-profits.
“Flexible electronics are already re-shaping multiple markets, with a growing demand from customers,” said Jennifer Ernst, chair of the Governing Board of FlexTech Alliance and chief strategy officer of Thin Film Electronics. “This initiative is a catalyst that ensures the US will benefit from the industry’s commercial growth, with deep supply chains, multiple product developers and integrators participating.”
Paul Semenza, director of commercialization for the FHE MII, said that theDoD has been keen to see the promise of flexible electronics fulfilled for many years and has worked with FlexTech and many other companies and institutions to get flexible demonstrators.
“However, a considerable gap has been found between demonstrable flexible electronics concepts and getting them manufactured, which has hindered the technology from volume manufacturing,” Semenza noted. “When the White House was identifying topics for their National Network for Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) initiative, DoD supported the topic of flexible electronics, and more specifically, Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE).
“A very comprehensive Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) was released in February with DoD identifying $75 million in funding for the FHE MII and requiring at least 1:1 matching in industry, state and other funds,” he added. “With this amount of funding and attention, DoD concluded the Institute could fund the projects and teams to do the manufacturing development required to overcome the chasm. FlexTech began assembling a team to build a proposal for submittal in June 2015. After an extensive review and negotiation phase, FlexTech and the DoD signed a Cooperative Agreement for the FHE MII on Aug 28, 2015.”
Outside of defense applications, potential markets include consumer electronics, wearables, medical devices, automotive and more. In addition, a Flex School initiative will be developed with universities, community colleges, and trade associations.
“The Institute will concentrate its efforts on several key demonstrators – structural health monitors, health and human performance monitors, soft robotics and wide-band array systems for communications,” Semenza said. “These general application categories were judged to be useful problems to highlight the unique set of substrates, designs, materials, tools and other potential specifications of FHE technology, and which would enable a broad range of sub-applications.”
Semenza said that the FHE MII will operate in the nexus between three traditional manufacturing sectors: CMOS ICs and other semiconductor devices, printed electronics and traditional printed circuit boards. Its goal is to each manufacturing readiness within four years, as well as educating and training the workforce and seeking commercialization opportunities.
“The goal will be to create processes that are replicable for volume manufacturing of flexible hybrid electronics, meaning devices that combine printed or other flexible electronics with bulk semiconductor devices,” Semenza said. “DoD has created a scale to measure Manufacturing Readiness Levels (MRLs) and moving the technology to Level 7 is the four-year goal of the Institute. Level 7 is commonly reached when manufacturing can create a prototype, system or subsystem in an operation and production environment.
“There are several related goals that will complement the Institute’s success in the technology area, he added. “Education and workforce training is an important element in ensuring that the work done at the Institute can be perpetuated throughout the U.S. economy in the form of a well-trained workforce. The Institute will also develop commercialization strategy in order to make the resulting manufacturing technologies widely available, as well as to develop sources of sustaining revenue for the Institute after the federal funding ends.”
Semenza said the Institute will concentrate its efforts on five key areas: creation of suitable design tools, test and reliability protocols, scale up of key materials, integration of thinned devices and device and sensor integrated printing and packaging.
“As there has been no significant manufacturing of FHE devices, all of these areas must be addressed in order to create a robust ecosystem,” he noted, adding that processes are being developed to address intellectual property considerations, conduct projects and develop education and workforce training programs.
The Army Research Labs (ARL) will serve as program manager, and the Air Force Research Labs (AFRL) will serve as government chief technology officer
“There is wide interest from these agencies in the success of the Institute and the products it will enable, as well the economic benefits to US industry from the technology resulting from the Institute’s activities,” Semenza said.
Semenza added that FlexTech is looking forward to developing new opportunities with the FHE MII.
“The FlexTech Alliance is gratified to have the opportunity to apply our capabilities in management and recognition of the importance of supporting the advancements in FHE manufacturing capability,” Semenza concluded. “We have been developing and managing very similar processes to what the MII needs for many years and look forward to successfully carrying out this new program. The FlexTech Alliance has conducted more than 170 technology development agreements and has a membership that is keenly interested in helping the Institute succeed.”
