Development of Kirigami-Based Stretchable Electronics for Wearable Electronic Devices

Stretchable electronic devices are electronic circuits fabricated onto stretchable substrates. So far, many researchers have applied elastic materials such as silicones or polyurethanes to stretchable substrates. A design of kirigami patterns based on mechanical metamaterials can provide the substrates with high stretchability. These mechanical metamaterials are artificial mechanical structures that exhibit unconventional mechanical properties that originated from their structures rather than their compositions. Especially, auxetic metamaterials show a negative Poisson’s ratio that enables a lot of applications in soft robotics, medical devices, and stretchable electronics. Nano and microscale fabrication technology can contribute to the fabrication of kirigami-based mechanical metamaterials since nano and microscale structures can realize the appropriate properties of metamaterials that are suitable for the specific application. In this study, we developed the fabrication process of stretchable electronic devices using kirigami patterning of polymeric substrates. We designed and fabricated the distortion-free micro-LED (Light Emitting Devices) display using flexible electronic circuits and kirigami technology. In addition, we demonstrated the wearable and skin-attachable biomedical devices of stretchable micro-LED for phototherapy and beauty. These fabrication technologies can contribute to the manufacturing of stretchable electronics for free design form factors.