Thin Film/Elastomer Structures for Stretchable Electronics

Stretchable devices are a challenging issue in electronics in the modem era. Conventionally, electronic devices are fabricated on rigid boards and are neither flexible nor stretchable. However, if electronic devices are stretchable, they can be smoothly attached to nonplanar surfaces, such as the human body. One method for creating stretchable devices is the use of stretchable structures. In this report, we present several types of stretchable structures, including kirigami-elastomer, wrinkle, and fiber structures, all composed of thin films and elastomers. The buckling of the thin film was used to form the stretchable structures. Because buckling is ubiquitous across materials, electronic devices with these structures can be stretchable, even if the materials are not stretchable. Since there is no need to develop stretchable materials, using stretchable structures is a promising way to enrich various stretchable devices.