Modified PDMS packaging of sensory e-textile circuit microsystems for improved robustness with washing

Abstract Electronic Textiles (e-textiles) should ideally be handled and cleaned like traditional textiles. Therefore, we can expect e-textiles to be machine washed or hand washed. As e-textiles enhance traditional fabrics with electronic functionality, any embedded microsystem i.e., flexible electronic circuits, will be expected to survive and show functionality after the e-textile has been washed multiple times to ensure the garment is practical. Therefore, the choice of encapsulation material for microsystems in a textile must be hydrophobic and offer minimal expansion when washed and ensure the electronics are undetectable when the textile is handled or cleaned. This paper evaluates five different base/curing agent mixing ratios—5:1, 7:1, 10:1, 15:1, and 20:1—of commercial polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) as an electronic packaging encapsulation. Contact angle and aqueous permeability experiments were conducted to tailor the PDMS mixture specifically for washable e-textile applications. The experimental results show that 20:1 PDMS is the most suitable as it is sufficiently hydrophobic with minimal swelling in commercial washing machine trials. Following this, a 40.3 µm-thick 20:1 conformal encapsulation of PDMS upon an touch and proximity flexible circuit that can be integrated into textiles via knitting and/or weaving, was examined. Results show the washing spin speed is a crucial factor with washing cycle duration having minimal impact when determining circuit functionality survival. Overall, the e-textiles in this work survived between 10 and 15 washes with microscopic inspection of the circuits revealing failure of the external wires but not the PDMS encapsulation—suggesting its sufficient robustness and durability as a suitable encapsulation material for washable electronic textiles.