About this Abstract |
| Meeting |
2026 TMS Annual Meeting & Exhibition
|
| Symposium
|
2026 Technical Division Student Poster Contest
|
| Presentation Title |
SPU-3: A Novel Protocol for Mitigating Thermally Induced Warping in Soft Polymer Substrates for Flexible and Optoelectronic Device Fabrication |
| Author(s) |
TaeEun Jun |
| On-Site Speaker (Planned) |
TaeEun Jun |
| Abstract Scope |
Surface warping and morphology inconsistencies in soft polymer substrates significantly compromise coating uniformity and device performance in thin-film-based electronics. We present a universal, reusable preparation protocol tailored for laboratory-scale fabrication, enabling consistent and reproducible processing of soft polymer substrates during experimental device development. The method begins with thermal pre-conditioning of the polymer on a conformal support such as polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), selected for its thermal expansion compatibility with the target substrate. This relaxes internal stress and reduces out-of-plane distortion. The film is then transferred to a rigid, non-stick octadecyltrichlorosilane-treated silicon wafer (OTMS-Si), which provides a stable planar surface for subsequent thin-film deposition and patterning. This dual-support process minimizes substrate warping, enables highly uniform coatings, and supports clean device lift-off. The protocol is compatible with embedded nanostructures and generalizable across fabrication workflows in stretchable electronics, sensors, and optoelectronic systems where soft substrate flatness is critical for experimental accuracy and performance benchmarking. |
| Proceedings Inclusion? |
Undecided |
| Keywords |
Polymers, Electronic Materials, Composites |