“Basically, we are using a hybrid technology that mixes traditional electronics with flexible, high-performance electronics and new 3-D printing technologies,” says Benjamin J. Leever, Ph.D., who is at the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “In some cases, we incorporate ‘inks,’ which are based on metals, polymers and organic materials, to tie the system together electronically. With our technology, we can take a razor-thin silicon integrated circuit, a few hundred nanometers thick, and place it on a flexible, bendable or even foldable, plastic-like substrate material,” he says.

Over the past few years research has gradually started replacing rigid printed circuit boards with resilient, flexible and stretchy electronics invented to address various military issues in harsh environments along with aircraft applications. In case of aircraft applications, they can be used to monitor health and report stresses and strains through miniature antennas. While in the case of military based application, they can be used for the flexible hybrid system in “bunker buster” bombs.