Special Issue on Flexible and Wearable Electronics: from Materials to Applications

Printed stretchable circuit on soft elastic substrate for wearable application

Wei Yuan, Xinzhou Wu, Weibing Gu, Jian Lin and Zheng Cui

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 Corresponding author: Zheng Cui, zcui2009@sinano.ac.cn

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Abstract: In this paper, a flexible and stretchable circuit has been fabricated by the printing method based on Ag NWs/PDMS composite. The randomly oriented Ag NWs were buried in PDMS to form a conductive and stretchable electrode. Stable conductivity was achieved with a large range of tensile strain (0–50%) after the initial stretching/releasing cycle. The stable electrical response is due to the buckling of the Ag NWs/PDMS composite layer. Furthermore, printed stretchable circuits integrated with commercial ICs have been demonstrated for wearable applications.

Key words: printed electronicssilver nanowiresstretchable electronicswearable electronics



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Suo Z. Mechanics of stretchable electronics and soft machines. MRS Bull, 2012, 37(3): 218 doi: 10.1557/mrs.2012.32
[2]
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[3]
Cheng T, Zhang Y, Lai W Y, et al. Stretchable thin-film electrodes for flexible electronics with high deformability and stretchability. Adv Mater, 2015, 27(22): 3349 doi: 10.1002/adma.v27.22
[4]
Cheng T, Zhang Y, Zhang J D, et al. High-performance free-standing PEDOT:pss electrodes for flexible and transparent all-solid-state supercapacitors. J Mater Chem A, 2016, 4: 10493 doi: 10.1039/C6TA03537J
[5]
Kim D H, Xiao J, Song J, et al. Stretchable, curvilinear electronics based on inorganic material. Adv Mater, 2010, 22: 2108 doi: 10.1002/adma.v22:19
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Kim D H, Viventi J, Amsden J J, et al. Dissolvable films of silk fibroin for ultrathin conformal bio-integrated electronics. Nat Mater, 2010, 9: 511 doi: 10.1038/nmat2745
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Gao L, Zhang Y, Malyarchuk V, et al. Epidermal photonic devices for quantitative imaging of temperature and thermal transport characteristics of the skin. Nat Commun, 2014, 5: 4938 doi: 10.1038/ncomms5938
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Bandodkar A J, Nuñez-Flores R, Jia W, et al. All-printed stretchable electrochemical devices. Adv Mater, 2015, 27: 3060 doi: 10.1002/adma.201500768
[9]
Larmagnac A, Eggenberger S, Janossy H, et al. Stretchable electronics based on Ag-PDMS composites. Sci Rep, 2014, 4: 7254
[10]
Matsuhisa N, Kaltenbrunner M, Yokota T, et al. Printable elastic conductors with a high conductivity for electronic textile applications. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7461 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8461
[11]
Matsuhisa N, Inoue D, Zalar P, et al. Printable elastic conductors by in situ formation of silver nanoparticles from silver flakes. Nat Mater, 2017, 16: 834 doi: 10.1038/nmat4904
[12]
Zhang R, Lin W, Moon K S, et al. Fast preparation of printable highly conductive polymer nanocomposites by thermal decomposition of silver carboxylate and sintering of silver nanoparticles. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2010, 2(9): 2637 doi: 10.1021/am100456m
[13]
Xu F, Zhu Y. Highly conductive and stretchable silver nanowire conductors. Adv Mater, 2012, 24: 5117 doi: 10.1002/adma.201201886
[14]
Amjadi M, Pichitpajongkit A, Lee S, et al. Highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensor based on silver nanowire elastomer nanocomposite. ACS NANO, 2014, 8: 5154 doi: 10.1021/nn501204t
[15]
Liang J, Tong K, Pei Q. A water-based silver-nanowire screen-print ink for the fabrication of stretchable conductors and wearable thin-film transistors. Adv Mater, 2016, 28(28): 5986 doi: 10.1002/adma.201600772
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Liang J, Li L, Chen D, et al. Intrinsically stretchable and transparent thin-film transistors based on printable silver nanowires, carbon nanotubes and an elastomeric dielectric. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7647 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8647
[17]
Yao S, Zhu Y. Wearable multifunctional sensors using printed stretchable conductors made of silver nanowires. Nanoscale, 2014, 6(4): 2345 doi: 10.1039/c3nr05496a
[18]
Cheng T, Zhang Y Z, Yi J P, et al. Inkjet-printed flexible, transparent and aesthetic energy storage devices based on PEDOT:PSS/Ag grid electrodes. J Mater Chem A, 2016, 4: 13754 doi: 10.1039/C6TA05319J
[19]
Cheng T, Zhang Y Z, Lai W Y, et al. High-performance stretchable transparent electrodes based on silver nanowires synthesized via an eco-friendly halogen-free method. J Mater Chem C, 2014, 2: 10369 doi: 10.1039/C4TC01959H
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Liang J, Li L, Niu X, et al. Elastomeric polymer light-emitting devices and displays. Nat Photon, 2013, 7(10): 817 doi: 10.1038/nphoton.2013.242
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Madaria A R, Kumar A, Ishikawa F N, et al. Uniform, highly conductive, and patterned transparent films of a percolating silver nanowire network on rigid and flexible substrates using a dry transfer technique. Nano Res, 2010, 3(8): 564 doi: 10.1007/s12274-010-0017-5
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Yan C, Wang J, Wang X, et al. An intrinsically stretchable nanowire photodetector with a fully embedded structure. Adv Mater, 2014, 26(6): 943 doi: 10.1002/adma.v26.6
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Yamada T, Hayamizu Y, Yamamoto Y, et al. A stretchable carbon nanotube strain sensor for human-motion detection. Nat Nanotech, 2011, 6(5): 296 doi: 10.1038/nnano.2011.36
[24]
Lee P, Lee J, Lee H, et al. Flexible electronics: highly stretchable and highly conductive metal electrode by very long metal nanowire percolation network. Adv Mater, 2012, 24(25): 3326 doi: 10.1002/adma.v24.25
[25]
Martinez V, Stauffer F, Adagunodo M O, et al. Stretchable silver nanowire-elastomer composite microelectrodes with tailored electrical properties. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2015, 7(24): 13467 doi: 10.1021/acsami.5b02508
[26]
Henley S J, Cann M, Jurewicz I, et al. Laser patterning of transparent conductive metal nanowire coatings: simulation and experiment. Nanoscale, 2014, 6(2): 946 doi: 10.1039/C3NR05504C
[27]
Madaria A R, Kumar A, Ishikawa F N, et al. Uniform, highly conductive, and patterned transparent films of a percolating silver nanowire network on rigid and flexible substrates using a dry transfer technique. Nano Res, 2010, 3(8): 564 doi: 10.1007/s12274-010-0017-5
[28]
Liang J, Li L, Chen D, et al. Intrinsically stretchable and transparent thin-film transistors based on printable silver nanowires, carbon nanotubes and an elastomeric dielectric. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7647 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8647
[29]
Liang J, Tong K, Pei Q. A water-based silver-nanowire screen-print ink for the fabrication of stretchable conductors and wearable thin-film transistors. Adv Mater, 2016, 28(28): 5986 doi: 10.1002/adma.201600772
[30]
Matsuhisa N, Kaltenbrunner M, Yokota T, et al. Printable elastic conductors with a high conductivity for electronic textile applications. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7461 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8461
Fig. 1.  (Color online) Schematic illustration of the fabrication process of patterned stretchable circuit

Fig. 2.  (Color online) (a, b) Photographs of stretchable composite electrodes with different patterns, (c) under tensile state. (d–f) Photograph and optical microscope images of printed stretchable conductor with different line widths. (g) Surface morphology of stretchable electrode. (h) Cross section of Ag NWs/PDMS electrode. (i) Magnified SEM image of the area marked with red dotted line in (h).

Fig. 3.  (Color online) (a) Resistance of printed Ag NWs/PDMS composite conductor as a function of the initial 100% tensile strain, inset picture shows the stretchable conductor (L = 3 cm, W = 5 mm) for the tensile test. (b) Resistance of Ag NWs/PDMS stretchable electrode for multiple-cycle tests at 0–50% strain after the initial 100% stretching recovery. (c) SEM image of the stretchable conductor after the initial 100% stretching and releasing cycle. (d) Three-dimensional image of the buckling structure. (e)In situ SEM observation of the surface morphology of a stretchable conductor during the initial 100% stretching and releasing cycle.

Fig. 4.  (Color online) Resistance of printed Ag NWs/PDMS composite conductor during 1200 cycles of tensile stretching and releasing between 0 and 50% strain.

Fig. 5.  (Color online) (a) Schematic diagram of the stretchable LED circuit encapsulated with PDMS. (b) Photograph of the encapsulated stretchable single LED circuit. (c) Pictures of lighting the LED circuit under tensile strain state. (d) Stretchable lighting hand chain. (e) Washable lighting smart fabric. (f) Simple functional circuit integrated with microcontroller unit (MCU), capacitance, resistance and LED.

[1]
Suo Z. Mechanics of stretchable electronics and soft machines. MRS Bull, 2012, 37(3): 218 doi: 10.1557/mrs.2012.32
[2]
Kim D H, Kim Y S, W J, et al. ultrathin silicon circuits with strain-isolation layers and mesh layouts for high-performance electronics on fabric, vinyl, leather, and paper. Adv Mater, 2009, 21: 3703 doi: 10.1002/adma.v21:36
[3]
Cheng T, Zhang Y, Lai W Y, et al. Stretchable thin-film electrodes for flexible electronics with high deformability and stretchability. Adv Mater, 2015, 27(22): 3349 doi: 10.1002/adma.v27.22
[4]
Cheng T, Zhang Y, Zhang J D, et al. High-performance free-standing PEDOT:pss electrodes for flexible and transparent all-solid-state supercapacitors. J Mater Chem A, 2016, 4: 10493 doi: 10.1039/C6TA03537J
[5]
Kim D H, Xiao J, Song J, et al. Stretchable, curvilinear electronics based on inorganic material. Adv Mater, 2010, 22: 2108 doi: 10.1002/adma.v22:19
[6]
Kim D H, Viventi J, Amsden J J, et al. Dissolvable films of silk fibroin for ultrathin conformal bio-integrated electronics. Nat Mater, 2010, 9: 511 doi: 10.1038/nmat2745
[7]
Gao L, Zhang Y, Malyarchuk V, et al. Epidermal photonic devices for quantitative imaging of temperature and thermal transport characteristics of the skin. Nat Commun, 2014, 5: 4938 doi: 10.1038/ncomms5938
[8]
Bandodkar A J, Nuñez-Flores R, Jia W, et al. All-printed stretchable electrochemical devices. Adv Mater, 2015, 27: 3060 doi: 10.1002/adma.201500768
[9]
Larmagnac A, Eggenberger S, Janossy H, et al. Stretchable electronics based on Ag-PDMS composites. Sci Rep, 2014, 4: 7254
[10]
Matsuhisa N, Kaltenbrunner M, Yokota T, et al. Printable elastic conductors with a high conductivity for electronic textile applications. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7461 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8461
[11]
Matsuhisa N, Inoue D, Zalar P, et al. Printable elastic conductors by in situ formation of silver nanoparticles from silver flakes. Nat Mater, 2017, 16: 834 doi: 10.1038/nmat4904
[12]
Zhang R, Lin W, Moon K S, et al. Fast preparation of printable highly conductive polymer nanocomposites by thermal decomposition of silver carboxylate and sintering of silver nanoparticles. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2010, 2(9): 2637 doi: 10.1021/am100456m
[13]
Xu F, Zhu Y. Highly conductive and stretchable silver nanowire conductors. Adv Mater, 2012, 24: 5117 doi: 10.1002/adma.201201886
[14]
Amjadi M, Pichitpajongkit A, Lee S, et al. Highly stretchable and sensitive strain sensor based on silver nanowire elastomer nanocomposite. ACS NANO, 2014, 8: 5154 doi: 10.1021/nn501204t
[15]
Liang J, Tong K, Pei Q. A water-based silver-nanowire screen-print ink for the fabrication of stretchable conductors and wearable thin-film transistors. Adv Mater, 2016, 28(28): 5986 doi: 10.1002/adma.201600772
[16]
Liang J, Li L, Chen D, et al. Intrinsically stretchable and transparent thin-film transistors based on printable silver nanowires, carbon nanotubes and an elastomeric dielectric. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7647 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8647
[17]
Yao S, Zhu Y. Wearable multifunctional sensors using printed stretchable conductors made of silver nanowires. Nanoscale, 2014, 6(4): 2345 doi: 10.1039/c3nr05496a
[18]
Cheng T, Zhang Y Z, Yi J P, et al. Inkjet-printed flexible, transparent and aesthetic energy storage devices based on PEDOT:PSS/Ag grid electrodes. J Mater Chem A, 2016, 4: 13754 doi: 10.1039/C6TA05319J
[19]
Cheng T, Zhang Y Z, Lai W Y, et al. High-performance stretchable transparent electrodes based on silver nanowires synthesized via an eco-friendly halogen-free method. J Mater Chem C, 2014, 2: 10369 doi: 10.1039/C4TC01959H
[20]
Liang J, Li L, Niu X, et al. Elastomeric polymer light-emitting devices and displays. Nat Photon, 2013, 7(10): 817 doi: 10.1038/nphoton.2013.242
[21]
Madaria A R, Kumar A, Ishikawa F N, et al. Uniform, highly conductive, and patterned transparent films of a percolating silver nanowire network on rigid and flexible substrates using a dry transfer technique. Nano Res, 2010, 3(8): 564 doi: 10.1007/s12274-010-0017-5
[22]
Yan C, Wang J, Wang X, et al. An intrinsically stretchable nanowire photodetector with a fully embedded structure. Adv Mater, 2014, 26(6): 943 doi: 10.1002/adma.v26.6
[23]
Yamada T, Hayamizu Y, Yamamoto Y, et al. A stretchable carbon nanotube strain sensor for human-motion detection. Nat Nanotech, 2011, 6(5): 296 doi: 10.1038/nnano.2011.36
[24]
Lee P, Lee J, Lee H, et al. Flexible electronics: highly stretchable and highly conductive metal electrode by very long metal nanowire percolation network. Adv Mater, 2012, 24(25): 3326 doi: 10.1002/adma.v24.25
[25]
Martinez V, Stauffer F, Adagunodo M O, et al. Stretchable silver nanowire-elastomer composite microelectrodes with tailored electrical properties. ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2015, 7(24): 13467 doi: 10.1021/acsami.5b02508
[26]
Henley S J, Cann M, Jurewicz I, et al. Laser patterning of transparent conductive metal nanowire coatings: simulation and experiment. Nanoscale, 2014, 6(2): 946 doi: 10.1039/C3NR05504C
[27]
Madaria A R, Kumar A, Ishikawa F N, et al. Uniform, highly conductive, and patterned transparent films of a percolating silver nanowire network on rigid and flexible substrates using a dry transfer technique. Nano Res, 2010, 3(8): 564 doi: 10.1007/s12274-010-0017-5
[28]
Liang J, Li L, Chen D, et al. Intrinsically stretchable and transparent thin-film transistors based on printable silver nanowires, carbon nanotubes and an elastomeric dielectric. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7647 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8647
[29]
Liang J, Tong K, Pei Q. A water-based silver-nanowire screen-print ink for the fabrication of stretchable conductors and wearable thin-film transistors. Adv Mater, 2016, 28(28): 5986 doi: 10.1002/adma.201600772
[30]
Matsuhisa N, Kaltenbrunner M, Yokota T, et al. Printable elastic conductors with a high conductivity for electronic textile applications. Nat Commun, 2015, 6: 7461 doi: 10.1038/ncomms8461
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    Received: 31 July 2017 Revised: 13 October 2017 Online: Accepted Manuscript: 27 December 2017Published: 01 January 2018

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      Wei Yuan, Xinzhou Wu, Weibing Gu, Jian Lin, Zheng Cui. Printed stretchable circuit on soft elastic substrate for wearable application[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2018, 39(1): 015002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/39/1/015002 W Yuan, X Z Wu, W B Gu, J Lin, Z Cui, Printed stretchable circuit on soft elastic substrate for wearable application[J]. J. Semicond., 2018, 39(1): 015002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/39/1/015002.Export: BibTex EndNote
      Citation:
      Wei Yuan, Xinzhou Wu, Weibing Gu, Jian Lin, Zheng Cui. Printed stretchable circuit on soft elastic substrate for wearable application[J]. Journal of Semiconductors, 2018, 39(1): 015002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/39/1/015002

      W Yuan, X Z Wu, W B Gu, J Lin, Z Cui, Printed stretchable circuit on soft elastic substrate for wearable application[J]. J. Semicond., 2018, 39(1): 015002. doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/39/1/015002.
      Export: BibTex EndNote

      Printed stretchable circuit on soft elastic substrate for wearable application

      doi: 10.1088/1674-4926/39/1/015002
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      Project supported by the National Program on Key Basic Research Project (No. 2015CB351901), the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (No. XDA09020201), and the National Science Foundation of China (Nos. 51603227, 51603228).

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      • Corresponding author: zcui2009@sinano.ac.cn
      • Received Date: 2017-07-31
      • Revised Date: 2017-10-13
      • Published Date: 2018-01-01

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