Maze Solving Automatons for Self-Healing of Open Interconnects: Modular Add-on for Circuit Boards

TL;DR

This paper introduces a modular, electric field-driven self-healing mechanism for circuit boards that repairs open interconnects by maze solving, using conductive particles in an insulating fluid, demonstrating effective integration and repair speed.

Contribution

It presents a novel modular self-healing system for circuit boards that physically restores fractured interconnects through maze solving, with detailed modeling and experimental validation.

Findings

Heal rate of 10 μm/s achieved

Healed routes exhibit resistance from 100 Ω to 20 kΩ

Successful integration of healing module onto PCBs

Abstract

We present the circuit board integration of a self-healing mechanism to repair open faults. The electric field driven mechanism physically restores fractured interconnects in electronic circuits and has the ability to solve mazes. The repair is performed by conductive particles dispersed in an insulating fluid. We demonstrate the integration of the healing module onto printed circuit boards and the ability of maze solving. We model and perform experiments on the influence of the geometry of the conductive particles as well as the terminal impedances of the route on the healing efficiency. The typical heal rate is 10 $\mu$m/s with healed route having resistance of 100 $\Omega$ to 20 k$\Omega$ depending on the materials and concentrations used.