The engineer’s guide to multi-layer flexible printed circuits (FPCs): technologies and applications

The concept of flexible printed circuits (FPCs) originated in the early 20th century and, over the ensuing decades, FPCs have been adopted for use in a wide variety of industrial and consumer electronic products. FPC manufacturing techniques traditionally limited their length to less than one metre, but an innovation in the manufacturing process by Trackwise using their patented Improved Harness Technology (IHT™) has removed these restrictions, enabling many new applications. This paper reviews the definition, construction and benefits of FPCs, before looking at traditional and emerging applications.