A High-Resolution, Transparent, and Stretchable Polymer Conductor for Wearable Sensor Arrays

Abstract

Arrays of stretchable and transparent electronic sensors realize next-generation skin-conformable wearables and soft robotic skins, which require a high-resolution patternable stretchable conductor. However, the difficulty of simultaneously engineering desirable material properties (i.e., conductivity, stretchability, and patternability) has limited the development of such stretchable electronic materials. Herein, a high-resolution patternable, stretchable, and transparent conducting polymer by decoupled engineering of the material properties is shown. The high conductivity of the conducting polymer is achieved by rationally designing an ionic additive. The high stretchability is realized by matching the mechanical properties of the conducting polymer to the substrate. The developed conducting polymer is then patterned in a resolution less than 10 µm by nanosecond UV laser ablation, which enables the feasible demonstration of stretchable and transparent sensor arrays for touch and strain. The findings in this work will accelerate the development of high-density stretchable sensor arrays and stretchable semiconductor devices.