Thermally-drawn fiber including devices

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10509186-B2
Application number	US-201715661426-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 27, 2017
Priority date	Jul 28, 2016
Publication date	Dec 17, 2019
Grant date	Dec 17, 2019

Abstract

There is provided herein a fiber including a fiber body with a fiber body material having a longitudinal axis along a fiber body length. A plurality of devices is disposed as a linear sequence of devices within the fiber body. Each device includes at least one electrical contact pad. At least one electrical conductor is disposed within the fiber body. The electrical conductor is electrically connected to an electrical contact pad of devices in the plurality of devices. A weavable device includes at least one device material arranged in a planar device configuration and connected to an electrical contact pad. An electrically insulating, mechanically flexible fiber body material encapsulates the planar device configuration and contact pad and has a fiber body length greater than 10 m. An electrical conductor is electrically connected to a device contact pad and extends the fiber body length.

First claim

We claim:

1. A fiber comprising:
a fiber body comprising a fiber body material and having a longitudinal axis along a fiber body length;
a plurality of discrete devices disposed as a linear sequence of devices within the fiber body along at least a portion of the fiber body length, each device including at least one electrical contact pad, said fiber body material including fiber body material regions disposed between adjacent devices in the linear sequence of devices, separating adjacent devices with fiber body material;
wherein at a common fiber draw temperature, the fiber body material has a viscosity that is less than about 10 7 Poise and each device within the fiber body has a viscosity that is greater than about 10 8 Poise; and
at least one electrical conductor disposed within the fiber body along at least a portion of the fiber body length, the electrical conductor being electrically connected to an electrical contact pad of devices in the plurality of devices within the fiber body.

2. The fiber of claim 1 wherein at a common fiber draw temperature, the electrical conductor has a viscosity that is greater than about 10 8 Poise.

3. The fiber of claim 1 wherein at a common fiber draw temperature, the fiber body material has a viscosity that is greater than about 10 4 Poise and that is less than about 10 7 Poise.

4. A fiber comprising:
a fiber body comprising a fiber body material and having a longitudinal axis along a fiber body length, the fiber body length being greater than about 50 meters;
a plurality of discrete devices disposed as a linear sequence of devices within the fiber body along at least a portion of the fiber body length, each device including at least one electrical contact pad, said fiber body material including fiber body material regions disposed between adjacent devices in the linear sequence of devices, separating adjacent devices with fiber body material; and
at least one electrical conductor disposed within the fiber body along at least a portion of the fiber body length, the electrical conductor being electrically connected to an electrical contact pad of devices in the plurality of devices within the fiber body.

5. A fiber comprising:
a fiber body comprising a fiber body material and having a longitudinal axis along a fiber body length;
a plurality of discrete devices disposed as a linear sequence of devices within the fiber body along at least a portion of the fiber body length, each device including at least one electrical contact pad, said fiber body material including fiber body material regions disposed between adjacent devices in the linear sequence of devices, separating adjacent devices with fiber body material, wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises a crystalline material selected from the group consisting of monocrystalline material and polycrystalline material; and
at least one electrical conductor disposed within the fiber body along at least a portion of the fiber body length, the electrical conductor being electrically connected to an electrical contact pad of devices in the plurality of devices within the fiber body.

6. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the fiber body material comprises a polymeric, electrically insulating material.

7. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the fiber body material includes at least one material selected from the group consisting of a thermoplastic material, a polyimide material, a thermoset material, a glass material, a polysulfone material, a polycarbonate material, a polymethyl methacrylate material, a polyethylene material, a polyether sulfone material, a polyether ether ketone material, a cyclic olefin copolymer material, and a fluorinated polymer material.

8. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the fiber body material is transparent to at least one wavelength of radiation.

9. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the fiber body has a cross-sectional extent and wherein a ratio of fiber body length to fiber body cross-sectional extent is greater than about 1000.

10. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the fiber body has a cross-sectional geometry that is selected from the group consisting of generally circular, generally elliptical, generally rectangular, and generally triangular.

11. The fiber of claim 5 wherein a cross-sectional extent of the fiber body is greater than a largest dimension of each device disposed within the fiber body.

12. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the fiber body material encapsulates devices and electrical conductors within the fiber body while maintaining electrical connection between the electrical conductors and electrical contact pads of the devices within the fiber body.

13. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises a photonic device.

14. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises a microelectronic device.

15. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises a device selected from the group consisting of diode, photodiode, light emitting diode, laser diode, and photodetector.

16. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises a transistor.

17. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises a semiconductor junction device.

18. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body is a two-terminal electronic device and includes at least two electrical contact pads.

19. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body is a three-terminal electronic device and includes at least three electrical contact pads.

20. The fiber of claim 5 wherein each device disposed within the fiber body is mechanically rigid.

21. The fiber of claim 5 wherein each device disposed within the fiber is spatially oriented within the fiber body such that contact pads of each device are parallel to the longitudinal axis of the fiber body.

22. The fiber of claim 5 wherein each contact pad comprises a contact pad material that is electrically conducting.

23. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the linear sequence of devices along at least a portion of the fiber length includes at least two different devices.

24. The fiber of claim 5 wherein the linear sequence of devices along at least a portion of the fiber length includes at least two devices that are separately operable.

25. The fiber of claim 5 wherein each device disposed within the fiber body is a discrete planar element having a planar dimension that is greater than a vertical dimension of the planar element.

26. The fiber of claim 5 wherein each device disposed within the fiber body has a first planar surface opposite a second planar surface, and wherein a first electrical contact pad is disposed on the first planar surface and a second electrical contact pad is disposed on the second planar surface.

27. The fiber of claim 26 wherein the first and second planar surfaces are oriented parallel with the fiber body longitudinal axis.

28. The fiber of claim 26 wherein at least two electrical contact pads are disposed on at least one of the device first and second planar surfaces.

29. The fiber of claim 5 wherein at least one device disposed within the fiber body comprises an anode and a cathode.

30. T

Assignees

• Massachusetts Inst Technology

Inventors

• Fink Yoel
• Rein Michael

Classifications

• G02B6/4479

  Manufacturing methods of optical cables · CPC title

• A41D1/005

  with embedded cable or connector · CPC title

• H01B3/30

  plastics; resins; waxes · CPC title

• H01B5/16

  comprising conductive material in insulating or poorly conductive material, e.g. conductive rubber (H01B1/14, H01B1/20 take precedence; insulating bodies with conductive admixtures H01B17/64; conductive paints C09D5/24) · CPC title

• F21V23/001

  the elements being electrical wires or cables · CPC title