Avery Dennison - Direct Contact, No Failures: Mapping Ink/Adhesive Compatibility in Flexible Hybrid Electronics beyond the Holy Grail

The rapid adoption of flexible hybrid electronics in automotive heating, sensing and safety, industrial sensors, and medical wearables has placed a spotlight on a critical material interface: the direct contact between functional inks and pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) tapes. While these components must work in perfect harmony to ensure device longevity, their chemical interaction is highly complex.

An intensive validation program to map the compatibility of diverse adhesive tape technologies directly with various functional inks was conducted. The primary finding? There is no single “holy grail” adhesive solution. Instead, the compatibility is a multi-variable equation heavily dependent on the specific chemical formulations of both the ink and the adhesive matrix. Many product factors can dramatically alter both electrical conductivity and/or adhesive performance.
In this presentation, we will pull back the curtain on our research. We will introduce our validated testing methodology designed to evaluate ink/adhesive interfaces under accelerated ageing. Furthermore, we will break down the key influencing factors that engineers must consider during the design phase to avoid unexpected field failures. Finally, we will share practical, real-world applications where these validated combinations are already successfully deployed, and even result in elimination of layers and cost.