NextFlex Announces Over $17 Million in Funding for Flexible Hybrid Electronics Innovations in Harsh Environment Reliability, Printing of Conformal Circuits, and Low Cost 5G Antennas

By AIT News Desk On Mar 31, 2022

Projects include additive packaging of RF components for hypersonics applications, wearable sensor systems for factory settings to improve safety for human-robot interactions, and non-planar hybrid electronic 3D packaging approaches for microwave systems.

NextFlex, America’s Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE) Manufacturing Institute, announced $17 million in funding (including $8.7M in cost-share contribution from participants) for 18 new projects as part of its Project Call 6.0 to further promote FHE development and adoption throughout the U.S. advanced manufacturing sector.

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“These projects will develop groundbreaking capabilities that will transition to industrial practice and benefit US manufacturing.”

Project Call 6.0’s awarded projects represent a diverse and innovative set of companies and universities that together are focused on maturing the industry’s capabilities while leveraging the strong foundation established in prior Project Calls. Included in this latest round of funded projects are applications that help to move the manufacturing industry closer to volume manufacturing and commercialization: additively manufactured high temperature conductors for hypersonics, sensors and communication systems for low cost attritable unmanned aerial systems, wireless monitoring devices for more efficient and safer human-robot interfacing on the factory floor, and software tools that enable reliability modeling and simplify manufacturing. This latest round of funding brings the total amount invested in FHE developments to over $116M, including cost share contributions from prior Project Call participants.

”This latest round of projects focus broadly on critical FHE manufacturing developments that have been prioritized in the NextFlex FHE Manufacturing Roadmaps,” said Malcolm Thompson, PhD, Executive Director, NextFlex. “These projects will develop groundbreaking capabilities that will transition to industrial practice and benefit US manufacturing.”

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The 18 winning projects will address demonstrating reliability of FHE devices in harsh environments, improving the accuracy and complexity of printed electronics on conformal surfaces, and novel materials and processes for assembly and component attach on flexible substrates. Furthermore, the projects will help to transition an increasing number of new capabilities into the U.S. industrial manufacturing sector for further advancement of the industry.

Project Call 6.0’s awarded funding will go to:

Development led by GE Research for additively manufactured RF components for hypersonics applications
Development led by Lockheed Martin for reliability validation and sustainment of direct-write printed RF devices
Development led by Integrated Deposition Solutions (IDS) for design tool development for the printing of non-planar conformal circuits
Development led by SunRay Scientific to demonstrate the reliability and scalability of a magnetically aligned anisotropic conductive adhesive for component attach in aerospace and automotive lighting applications
Development led by The Boeing Company to demonstrate a flexible electronic monitor for safer human / machine interfacing in industry and manufacturing environments
Development led by The Boeing Company for FHE active phased array antennas for 5G communications
Development led by General Dynamics for conformal multi-layer frequency selective surface (FSS) structures for radomes
Development led by Auburn University for evaluation of the reliability of electrically conductive adhesives, magnetic-oriented anisotropic conductive adhesives, and low-temperature solders for FHE in harsh environments
Development led by Lockheed Martin for demonstration of printed and FHE mid-band phased array antennas, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory
Development led by Auburn University for closed loop control of additive FHE print processes on an inkjet platform using hyperspectral imaging and machine learning
Development led by Northeastern University for ultra-fine resolution printing of circuit components
Development led by PARC for development of an assembly process for high chip count FHE devices
Development led by Lockheed Martin Company for flexible interconnects for small-scale mm-Wave SATCOM & 5G Systems for low-cost unmanned aircraft, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory
Development led by University at Buffalo for high temperature conformal hybrid electronics on flexible ceramics
Development led by UMass Lowell for nonplanar 3D packaging approaches for compact microwave systems, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory
Development led by Northrop Grumman for compact, high performance RF systems for low-cost attritable aircraft demonstration, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory
Development led by Lockheed Martin Space for evaluating flexible interposers for high-performance FHE devices
Development led by Georgia Tech for models and tools to predict reliability and life of FHE components and systems

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