Biodegradable and nanocomposite substrates: new prospects for sustainable electronics packaging
Csaba Farkas, Attila Géczy, Rebeka Kovács, Attila Bonyár, IEEE Senior Member
Department of Electronics Technology, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Informatics,
Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, Hungary;
Abstract
Biodegradables and nanomaterials are a promising path for the future of electronics in a greener mindset. Biodegradables and nanocomposites are already effectively used in prototypes and advanced application areas with demanding requirements, such as flexible and wearable electronics, implantable or biomedical applications, and traditional commercial electronics. The nano-enhanced biopolymer substrates (e.g., with improved gas and water barrier functionalities) sometimes also with integrated, nano-enabled functionalities (such as electromagnetic shielding or plasmonic activity) can be beneficial in many electronics packaging and nanopackaging applications as well.
1. Introduction
Electronics industry is facing significant problems with increasing production and, consequently, the problem of hazardous electronic waste [1]. The issue is additionally elevated by the global market-based attitude, which encourages consumers to discard outdated hardware. While most of the electronic equipment and modules are essentially non-degradable, proper recycling is also a crucial concern. In the modern time period of the technology, some rules were implemented to prevent the manufacture of devices with hazardous elements (an example: the “RoHS Directive”, which was a key action in this matter more than a decade ago [2-3]).