Stretchable Light-Emitting Sheets Could Form the Basis of Implantable Optoelectronics: Scientific American

Stretchable Light-Emitting Sheets Could Form the Basis of Implantable Optoelectronics: Scientific American

An international team of researchers has devised a way to embed tiny light emitters and light sensors into stretchable, bendable, twistable sheets. The flexible systems might someday find use as implanted sensors to keep tabs on biological processes.

Many approaches to developing flexible electronics have targeted a class of light emitters known as organic LEDs, which can be assembled using electrically conductive polymers and deposited on bendable plastic substrates. Conventional, inorganic LEDs are a more mature technology, with their own distinct advantages, but they are generally tethered to semiconductor wafers that limit their elasticity.