Additive manufacturing of advanced electronic devices: a comprehensive review of materials, processes, and applications

Abstract

The additive manufacturing (AM) technology has gained recognition as an innovative technology that holds promise for transforming the electronics industry through the realization of complex designs and multi-material integration. Advances in additive manufacturing (AM) technologies and materials are now paving the way towards novel electronics. This review paper focuses on the background, materials, and technologies that need to be considered for the fabrication of electronics using AM technology. The major AM processes, such as material extrusion, vat photopolymerization, material jetting, binder jetting, and powder bed fusion, provide specific design freedom and multi-material integration possibilities. On the other hand, improvements in conductive inks, dielectric polymers, and substrates have led to the widening of AM applications in areas like printed circuit boards, sensors, antennas, and energy storage devices. In addition to the specific topics of materials and technologies, this paper highlights the wide field of applications associated with AM electronics. Nevertheless, several problems arise in the way of wider implementation of these achievements, such as those related to material conductivity, resolution, interlayer adhesion, and standardization of the process. In order to tackle these problems, further research should be conducted on multi-material printing at the nanoscale level and the use of 4D intelligent materials for building adaptive and reconfigurable systems. Future development of AM technologies in electronics will include the incorporation of AI and IoT to provide quick, sustainable, and highly personalized devices. This review tries to bring together current progress and new prospects and show how AM technologies may change the face of electronics manufacturing.