Stretchphone

Researchers have made the first smart circuit that could be used to make a thin, stretchable tablet.

12:40 18 February 2017

Using an inkjet printer, US researchers have successfully developed the first stretchable circuit, which could pave the way for the mass production of stretchy screens in the near future. The smart fabric, which is made of multiple materials made from nanomaterials and organic compounds, could be used to design a stretchable tablet or create a wallpaper that can turn your wall into one giant screen.  

 

Because the material does not require sophisticated technologies and equipment, it can be manufactured much more cheaply compared to other materials that use current technologies.

 

Dr Chuan Wang, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at Michigan State University (MSU), said: 'We can conceivably make the costs of producing flexible electronics comparable to the costs of printing newspapers.

 

'Our work could soon lead to printed displays that can easily be stretched to larger sizes, as well as wearable electronics and soft robotics applications.'  

 

He added that his team’s next step is to combine the circuit with OLED to create a working pixel, a process that can take two more years.

 

'We have created a new technology that is not yet available,' Dr Wang said.

 

'And we have taken it one big step beyond the flexible screens that are about to become commercially available.'