Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs) for conformable, flexible or stretchable electronics (RIA) (Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe partnership)

Expected Outcome

Project results are expected to contribute to the following expected outcomes:

• Conformable, flexible or stretchable electronic devices and circuits, enabling improved user experience and adoption;
• Sustainable electronics based on low environmental impact materials, promoting reparability and/or recyclability and compatible with energy and resource efficient manufacturing processes;
• Materials tailored for solution-processed electronics such as semiconductor, conductive, dielectric, electroactive polymers, low environmental impact and/or functional substrates, etc. enabling high performance and reliable flexible electronics devices.

Scope

The concept of "ubiquitous electronics" can be a unique opportunity for the EU, opening up new avenues for e.g., wearable electronics, e-textile, e-skin, wellbeing solutions and Internet of wearable things (IoWT), which represent strategic markets for the EU. Innovative and advanced materials (IAMs) can enable new technologies and the much-needed paradigm of an electronic device that can adapt to any substrate. Despite the progress made in this field, current devices are made up of a limited proportion of flexible, conformable, and stretchable components, mainly sensors, while the rest of the circuit remains rigid, limiting this technology shift.

The overall objective is to discover Innovative Advanced Materials (IAMs), including 2DMs, with improved properties in terms of flexibility, conformability and stretchability that can enable novel flexible electronic applications, with a focus on environmentally friendly technologies with reduced carbon footprint processing. Proposals should address most of the following challenges:

• Discomfort of existing wearables leading to non-adoption
• Environmental impact of current electronics due to the use of hazardous and/or critical raw materials, energy-hungry and resources intensive processes
• Low or limited performance and durability of existing materials for high performance and reliable flexible electronic devices and circuits
• Limited integrability of current electronics: size and/or weight, complex cabling, interface between flexible and rigid components, design limitations (i.e., pattern geometry, thickness, dimensions).

Proposals should address reparability and/or recyclability of devices and circuits e.g. reversible adhesives and interconnects, low temperature soldering, bio-based or recycled substrates such as low thermal budget paper and inks, bio-resorbable conductive materials for the next generation of transient implanted medical devices, etc., compatibility with energy and resource efficient manufacturing processes e.g., printing, thermoforming, high pressure forming, lamination, injection moulding, etc.

Where relevant, proposers are encouraged to take advantage of and connecting to European analytical research infrastructures and services such as the ones in the ARIE network [1].

Proposals should also consider building their innovations on top of relevant existing standards and consider standardisation as part of innovation and dissemination activities.

This topic implements the co-programmed European Partnership Innovative Advanced Materials for Europe (IAM4EU). Proposals funded under this topic are part of the IAM4EU partnership portfolio and are expected to develop synergies with the related stakeholder community and contribute actively to the objectives of the partnership. Proposals should seek collaboration, with existing projects and develop synergies with other relevant European, national, or regional initiatives, funding programmes such as the Graphene Flagship [2] for proposals investigating 2D materials. In addition, outreach to relevant national projects in EU Member States and Associated Countries is encouraged. Adequate resources for all these synergies should be foreseen in the proposal.

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Activities are expected to start at TRL 3 and achieve TRL 6 by the end of the project – see General Annex B

[1] https://arie-eu.org/

[2] Graphene Flagship: https://graphene-flagship.eu/