Direct-Write Printing on 3-Dimensional Geometries for Miniaturized Detector and Electronic Assemblies, Year 3

Direct-write printing techniques will enable new detector assemblies that were not previously possible with traditional assembly processes. Three detector concepts, focusing on a 3-dimensional magnetometer bobbin, will be manufactured using this technology to validate repeatability. Direct-write manufacturing has the potential to reduce mass and volume for fabrication and assembly of advanced detector concepts by reducing trace widths down to 10 microns and printing on complex, 3-dimensional geometries. This allows new electronic designs, and also reduces production times for such complex electronics. One specific effort involves a 3D substrate version of the Next Generation of x-Ray Polarimeter (NGxP), Silicon Micro-Well Detector (SiMWD) assembly. The current concept of the NGxP substrate is Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP), which is two-dimensional (flat) and is flexed into the required shape. The FY17 goal is to improve this design by printing the trace pattern onto a substrate preformed to the desired shape, instead of a flat LCP.