Interfacial Study of the Bonding between Low Melting Temperature Solder Alloy Nanoparticles and Textile Materials

In the manufacture of electronic textiles, a promising method for the adaptation of conventionally bulky, rigid components such as wires and sensors is the modification of individual textile fibers with conductive nanomaterials. However, the constraint of this approach is a limited capability to mechanically and electronically bond nano-modified active fibers together to create complex woven device architectures. In this work, we present a method for the dip-coat modification of various textile materials, such as nylon, cotton, and polyester fibers, with synthesized tin/indium alloy nanoparticles for solder bonding. Printed fibers were exposed to a reflow profile with a low peak temperature of 140-150 ºC under a flux vapor environment to melt the solder nanoparticles. The unique interface between the reflowed solder and the fabric was characterized using SEM and EDAX. This method was applied to solder either conductive or nonconductive fibers and to connect electronic components to a textile substrate for device design and applications.