Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 24;7(9):eabd9715.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abd9715. Print 2021 Feb.

Intrinsically stretchable organic light-emitting diodes

Jin-Hoon Kim  1 , Jin-Woo Park  2
Affiliations

Intrinsically stretchable organic light-emitting diodes

Jin-Hoon Kim et al. Sci Adv. .

Abstract

Soft and conformable optoelectronic devices for wearable and implantable electronics require mechanical stretchability. However, very few researches have been done for intrinsically stretchable light-emitting diodes. Here, we present an intrinsically stretchable organic light-emitting diode, whose constituent materials are all highly stretchable. The resulting intrinsically stretchable organic light-emitting diode can emit light when exposed to strains as large as 80%. The turn-on voltage is as low as 8 V, and the maximum luminance, which is a summation of the luminance values from both the anode and cathode sides, is 4400 cd m-2 It can also survive repeated stretching cycles up to 200 times, and small stretching to 50% is shown to substantially enhance its light-emitting efficiency.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Design of is-OLEDs and characterization of is-EML.
(A) Schematics comparing the microstructures of pristine SY and is-EMLs designed in this study. (B) Mechanical properties of pristine SY and is-EML thin films. (C) Carrier mobility of pristine SY and is-EMLs measured through the hole- and electron-only devices. (D) Tg of pristine SY and is-EMLs measured by DMA. (E) UV-vis absorption spectra of pristine SY and is-EMLs. On the basis of the various analysis results, by adding Triton X into SY, the SY chains become extended. Hence, a fibrillar microstructure with elongated domains is formed, which is favorable for stretchable electronics.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Design of other is-functional layers and characterization.
(A) Schematics of the microstructures of pristine HTL and is-HTL designed in this study. (B) Raman spectra of pristine AI 4083, is-HTL with various wt % of Triton X, and a glass substrate. (C) Mechanical properties of pristine HTL and is-HTL thin films. The conformation of the PEDOT chains is changed from coiled to linear with the addition of Triton X, which results in improved electrical and mechanical properties of is-HTL. (D) Luminance (L)–V plot of OLEDs with the solution-processed is-ETL and is-cathode with a discrete layer and a composite-like structure.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Fabrication and characterization of is-OLEDs.
(A) Schematic structure of is-OLEDs fabricated in this study. (B) J-V-L curve of is-OLEDs. (C) Relative L change (L·L0−1) of is-OLEDs based on pristine SY and is-EML during the static stretching tests. (D) L·L0−1 changes of is-OLEDs during cyclic stretching tests. (E) Optical images of is-OLEDs with an original emission area of 3.0 × 2.5 mm2, operated under various strains at applied V of 9.5 V for 0, 20, and 40% strain and 9.8 V for 60 and 80% strain. All data were measured under ambient atmospheric conditions. L was measured on the basis of the emission from the cathode (front side). Photo credits (E): Jin-Hoon Kim, Yonsei University.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4. Various applications of is-OLEDs in deformable displays.
(A) Optical photographs of is-OLEDs with a large device area at applied V of 9.5 V. (B) Optical photographs of is-OLEDs being poked by a ballpoint pen with a tip radius of 0.7 mm at applied V of 9.5 V. The dashed line defines the device area. (C) Optical photographs of is-OLEDs based on red (at applied V of 12 V), green (at applied V of 12 V), and blue light-emitting polymers (at applied V of 8 V). The possibility of applying is-OLEDs to deformable displays with various form factors is shown. Photo credits (A to C): Jin-Hoon Kim, Yonsei University.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Liang J. J., Li L., Niu X. F., Yu Z. B., Pei Q. B., Elastomeric polymer light-emitting devices and displays. Nat. Photonics 7, 817–824 (2013).
    1. Kim D.-H., Lu N., Ma R., Kim Y.-S., Kim R.-H., Wang S., Wu J., Won S. M., Tao H., Islam A., Yu K. J., Kim T.-i., Chowdhury R., Ying M., Xu L., Li M., Chung H.-J., Keum H., McCormick M., Liu P., Zhang Y.-W., Omenetto F. G., Huang Y., Coleman T., Rogers J. A., Epidermal electronics. Science 333, 838–843 (2011). - PubMed
    1. Yokota T., Zalar P., Kaltenbrunner M., Jinno H., Matsuhisa N., Kitanosako H., Tachibana Y., Yukita W., Koizumi M., Someya T., Ultraflexible organic photonic skin. Sci. Adv. 2, e1501856 (2016). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Larson C., Peele B., Li S., Robinson S., Totaro M., Beccai L., Mazzolai B., Shepherd R., Highly stretchable electroluminescent skin for optical signaling and tactile sensing. Science 351, 1071–1074 (2016). - PubMed
    1. Sekitani T., Nakajima H., Maeda H., Fukushima T., Aida T., Hata K., Someya T., Stretchable active-matrix organic light-emitting diode display using printable elastic conductors. Nat. Mater. 8, 494–499 (2009). - PubMed