ConCoTex

In the age of increasing digitalization and networking in everyday life, smart or e-textiles form an important interface between computers, the Internet of Things and people. However, a major technological challenge is the generation of stable conductive structures on the flexible surfaces. As part of the FFG project "ConCoTex" (Microsized Conductive lines and structural Coloration on Textiles), new manufacturing processes are being researched for this purpose. The role of the FHV's microtechnology research centre is to develop new laser-based processes. The LIFT process ("laser-induced forward transfer") is used to generate nanoparticles from a thin layer of silver and transfer them to textiles (see picture on the left). At the Research Institute of Textile Chemistry and Textile Physics at the University of Innsbruck, conductive copper sheets are then produced by means of electroless copper deposition. By combining both processes, conductive tracks can be written directly, which is advantageous for the development of prototypes.