Research & Development World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars

Stretchable Material Could Boost Electronic Devices

By Kenny Walter | February 21, 2017

The smart fabric created by MSU engineers could one day lead to an ultra-thin smart tablet that could be manually stretched to a larger size. Credit: Chaun Wang

A stretchable integrated circuit made entirely using an inkjet printer could lead to new advancements for producing smart fabrics.

Engineers at Michigan State University have developed the integrated circuit—the first of its kind—that has elastic-like tendencies that can help mass produce new materials for smart phones and tablets.

Chuan Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State, said in an exclusive interview with R&D Magazine that the stretchable material will help make displays for electronic devices.

“The key message is that we can unlock some new elastic electronic material,” he said. “We developed a printing process that can allow us to fabricate an integrated electronic surface that can stretch. We think that will be a good technology to be applied for making stretchable displays.”

The material has a number of applications. It could be used with an ultra-thin smart tablet that can be stretched from a mini-size to extra-large, a rubber band-like wrist monitor that measures heartrates or wallpaper that turns an entire wall into an electronic display.

One of the main advantages of the new material is that it can be produced relatively inexpensively using a standard printer.

Wang compared the cost to the cost of printing a newspaper.

The smart fabric is made up of several materials fabricated from nanomaterials and organic compounds, which are dissolved in solution to produce different electronic inks, and then run through the printer to make the devices.

From the ink, Wang and his team created the elastic material, the circuit stretchable material and an organic light-emitting diode. Further information on the light-emitting diode, which is also fully stretchable, will be released this year in another paper.

“Now we are trying to combine these two components together,” said Wang. “Once you have the circuit and the organic light-emitting diode you can combine them to make a pixel and those can be repeated to form a large array and that will be made into a display.”

According to Wang, bendable material currently exists but is not used on the commercial level because it eventually damages the screens on devices.

“It is not practical for consumer applications because those [materials] are just like a piece of paper, so if you crumble a piece of paper it wrinkles all over the place and those wrinkles are irreversible,” Wang said. “[Our] materials can stretch or they can fold and they will never be damaged.”

While the research team isn’t ready to present the material for commercial use yet, Wang said it won’t be long.

“From research and development to a commercial product it is definitely a long way to go,” he said. “In my opinion I think probably in the next one or two years we will able to demonstrate a prototype with a few pixels. A few pixels are far from commercial display but once you can demonstrate the possibility of making a few pixels then it is just a matter of companies taking over the technology and make it on a larger scale.”

The study was published in ACS Nano.        

Related Articles Read More >

R&D winner of the day: Monolithic Fiber Array Launcher
R&D collaborations looking to build expertise, in this week’s R&D power index
Invention addresses the problems of running a red light at traffic intersections
Liberty Defense airport shoe screening technology earns prestigious national award
2021 R&D Global Funding Forecast

Need R&D World news in a minute?

We Deliver!
R&D World Enewsletters get you caught up on all the mission critical news you need in research and development. Sign up today.
Enews Signup

R&D World Digital Issues

February 2020 issue

Browse the most current issue of R&D World and back issues in an easy to use high quality format. Clip, share and download with the leading R& magazine today.

Research & Development World
  • Subscribe to R&D World Magazine
  • Enews Sign Up
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Drug Discovery & Development
  • Pharmaceutical Processing
  • 2021 Global Funding Forecast

Copyright © 2022 WTWH Media LLC. All Rights Reserved. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of WTWH Media
Privacy Policy | Advertising | About Us

Search R&D World

  • Home Page
  • Topics
    • Aerospace
    • Archeology
    • Automotive
    • Biotech
    • Chemistry
    • COVID-19
    • Environment
    • Energy
    • Life Science
    • Material Science
    • R&D Market Pulse
    • R&D Management
    • Physics
  • Technology
    • 3D Printing
    • A.I./Robotics
    • Battery Technology
    • Controlled Environments
      • Cleanrooms
      • Graphene
      • Lasers
      • Regulations/Standards
      • Sensors
    • Imaging
    • Nanotechnology
    • Scientific Computing
      • Big Data
      • HPC/Supercomputing
      • Informatics
      • Security
      • Software
    • Semiconductors
  • 2021 R&D 100 Award Winners
    • R&D 100 Awards
    • 2020 Winners
    • Winner Archive
  • Resources
    • Digital Issues
    • Podcasts
    • Subscribe
  • Global Funding Forecast
  • Webinars