Research

Engineering Sciences

Title :	Self Healing Circuits for Automatic Repair of Open Faults: Increasing Reliability of Electronic Devices for Space and Defence Applications
Area of research :	Material Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Astronomy & Space Sciences
Focus area :	Defence, Materials for disruptive technologies, Packaging, Space applications
Principal Investigator :	Sanjiv Sambandan, Associate Professor, Department of Instrumentation and Applied Physics, Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru

Details

Executive Summary :

Interconnect faults such as opens and shorts reduce the reliability of electronic circuits. For applications such as space (eg. circuits in satellites) and defense, such failures are not acceptable. We propose a smart material that can identify and repair an open circuit fault automatically. The material is a dispersion of electrically conductive micro or nano particles in an electrically insulating fluid medium. Upon the occurrence of an open fault, the particles polarize, chain up and form a conductive bridge across the gap resulting in repair. The main objective of this proposal is to use this concept to develop a “product-ready” prototype patch with the self-healing mechanism integrated within. A primary feature is that such a patch can be stuck on to existing printed circuit boards to add the self-healing feature and improve reliability. This objective will be accomplished by first identifying key parameter that permit high speed self healing, the stability of the bridge and integration with a proper encapsulant.