Boise State University researchers have unveiled a cutting-edge approach to manufacturing flexible hybrid circuits—reducing costs, waste, and environmental impact. Their work leverages the properties of laser-induced graphene and was recently featured on the cover of Advanced Materials Technologies.

Laser-induced graphene uses a single-step laser manufacturing process that converts carbon-rich materials into a 3-dimensional conductive and porous structure with some regions of atomically thin graphene. This technique is scalable, cost-effective, and patternable, making it ideal for applications in electronics, sensing, and energy storage.

In this work, the researchers used palladium (Pd) nanoparticles embedded in a polymer matrix to form Pd functionalized laser-induced graphene. These Pd nanoparticles act as seed crystals for the electroless deposition of copper on the LIG scaffold, thus forming copper interconnects for flexible printed circuit boards (f-PCBs) through a laser-enabled additive manufacturing process.

The interconnects are then used with discrete microelectronics components to form a flexible hybrid operational amplifier capable of sensing resistance changes while undergoing cyclic bending—highlighting the potential of the approach for various sensing applications.

“Additive manufacturing of printed circuit boards can help advance electronics manufacturing by reducing waste, cutting costs, and enabling rapid prototyping,” said Attila Rektor, lead author of the journal publication. “Our approach helps eliminate harmful chemicals and excessive material waste, to help make PCB fabrication more environmentally sustainable.”

The global PCB market is valued at around $90 billion USD and projected to grow to over $150 billion USD in the next decade. A large driver of this growth is the increasing demand for flexible PCBs which offer space-saving designs, reduced weight, and increased durability and comfort for wearable IoT applications.

“I was thrilled to hear that Attila’s work was recognized with the cover of Advanced Materials Technologies,” said Prof. David Estrada of the Micron School of Materials Science and Engineering. “His research not only bridges fundamental scientific discovery to practical applications but also introduces an innovative approach to manufacturing flexible PCBs—reducing costs and environmental impact by eliminating waste and harmful etching processes for our industrial partners.”