Developments and Future Directions in Stretchable Display Technology: Materials, Architectures, and Applications

Abstract

Stretchable display technology has rapidly evolved, enabling a new generation of flexible electronics with applications ranging from wearable healthcare and smart textiles to implantable biomedical devices and soft robotics. This review systematically presents recent advances in stretchable displays, focusing on intrinsic stretchable materials, wavy surface engineering, and hybrid integration strategies. The paper highlights critical breakthroughs in device architectures, energy-autonomous systems, durable encapsulation techniques, and the integration of artificial intelligence, which collectively address challenges in mechanical reliability, optical performance, and operational sustainability. Particular emphasis is placed on the development of high-resolution displays that maintain brightness and color fidelity under mechanical strain, and energy harvesting systems that facilitate self-powered operation. Durable encapsulation methods ensuring long-term stability against environmental factors such as moisture and oxygen are also examined. The fusion of stretchable electronics with AI offers transformative opportunities for intelligent sensing and adaptive human-machine interfaces. Despite significant progress, issues related to large-scale manufacturing, device miniaturization, and the trade-offs between stretchability and device performance remain. This review concludes by discussing future research directions aimed at overcoming these challenges and advancing multifunctional, robust, and scalable stretchable display systems poised to revolutionize flexible electronics applications.

Keywords: artificial intelligence integration; durable encapsulation; energy-autonomous systems; flexible electronics; high-resolution displays; soft robotics; stretchable displays; wearable healthcare.

Figure 3

Buckled structures for stretchable electronic systems. (a) Schematic illustration of the fabrication process for wavy, single-crystal Si ribbons on pre-strained PDMS substrates, along with optical, SEM, and AFM images of the resulting buckled geometries. Adapted from Ref. [23]. Copyright 2007, National Academy of Sciences. (b) Wavelength and amplitude of buckled Si ribbons as a function of applied prestrain, along with schematic of the controlled delamination buckling process. Adapted with permission from Ref. [24]. © 2009, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. (c) Fabrication of 3D-buckled silicon nanowires using UVO-treated substrates, with large-area optical and AFM images, and calculated maximum strain of oval-coiled nanowire structures under tensile deformation. Adapted with permission from Ref. [26]. © 2011, American Chemical Society. (d) Formation of stretchable electrodes via buckled interconnects, including optical images, FEM simulation results, and device-level illustration of ultrathin circuit mesh transferred onto pre-strained PDMS. Adapted from Ref. [27]. Copyright 2008, National Academy of Sciences.

Figure 7

Applications of electronic skin for wearable healthcare and physiological monitoring. (a) Structural schematic and implementation of a standalone stretchable organic optoelectronic health patch (SHP) for real-time heart rate monitoring using integrated OLEDs and photodiodes. Adapted from Ref. [46]. © 2021, The Authors. Licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 (b) Structure and operation of skin-conformable photoplethysmogram (PPG) sensors using low-power oxide semiconductors; schematic of the dual-mode operation for continuous cardiovascular monitoring. Adapted with permission from Ref. [47]. © 2022, Elsevier. (c) Schematic of adhesion/detachment mechanism of hydrogel-based patches with negative pressure and chemical interactions, and illustration of temperature and motion monitoring using bioinspired wearable interfaces. Adapted with permission from Ref. [49]. © 2024, Acta Materialia Inc. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Figure 1

Representative strategies for intrinsic stretchable electrodes. (a) Manufacturing process of SWNT film, SWNT elastic conductor, and SWNT paste. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [7]. © 2008, AAAS. (b) Conceptual illustration of the ISOLED based on p- and n-doped 2D-contact stretchable electrodes (TCSEs), and schematic of pristine silver nanowire (AgNW) and TCSE structure. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [8]. © 2022, Wiley-VCH GmbH. (c) Schematic illustration of the fabrication procedures of PEDOT:PSS/S-Ag/PDMS hybrid electrodes. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [9]. © 2025, Elsevier. (d) Optical microscope images of PEDOT:PSS/PU/PEG film after scratching with a pencil and healing: single scratching and grid scratching. Reproduced from Ref. [10]. © 2024 The Royal Society of Chemistry. Licensed under CC BY 3.0.

Figure 2

Stretchable Emissive Layers: representative device architectures and their behavior under mechanical deformation. (a) Fully stretchable OLEDs fabricated with PDKCD. Reprinted with permission from Ref. [12]. © 2024, Springer Nature. (b) Intrinsically stretchable blend films of organic light-emitting polymer formed nanodomains and a nanoweb network structure. Adapted from Ref. [13]. © 2023, The Authors. Published by Springer Nature under a Creative Commons CC BY license. (c) Images of films obtained from mixtures of TCTA:SEBS (blue film), green EML (green film), and red EML (red film) of an intrinsically stretchable emissive layer. Adapted with permission from Ref. [14]. © 2023, Wiley-VCH GmbH. (d) User-interactive skin display with a flexible PeACEL device. Adapted from Ref. [15]. © 2024, The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (e) QD-based stretchable emission layer for intrinsically stretchable quantum dot light-emitting diodes. Adapted with permission from Ref. [16]. © 2024, Springer Nature. (f) Images of emitting PHOLEDs with isp-EML blended with different dopants (red, green, blue). Adapted with permission from Ref. [17]. © 2023, The Authors. Published by the American Chemical Society.

Figure 4

Wrinkled structure-enabled stretchable light-emitting devices. (a) Schematic of the fabrication process of 1D and 2D stretchable OLEDs (SOLEDs) via prestraining and transfer printing of ultrathin OLED/polymer films. (b) Demonstration of the ultraflexibility of a free-standing ultrathin OLED under buckling and twisting. Adapted with permission from Ref. [28]. © 2016, American Chemical Society. (c) Schematic illustration of the layer structure and fabrication of GSOLEDs, highlighting the device composition without nanoparticle integration. (d) Optical performance of GSOLEDs under various two-dimensional stretching conditions (0–100%), including operation tests under 2D stretchable, 2D flexible, 1D twisting, and water immersion conditions. NOA63 encapsulation enables environmental stability in liquid media. Adapted from Ref. [29]. © 2021, The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (e) Cross-sectional schematic of multilayer PLEDs with realistic thicknesses and material composition, alongside the chemical structure of the emissive polymer AnE-PVstat. (f) Photographic demonstrations of ultrathin PLEDs under extreme mechanical deformation, including bending, stretching, and compression. Adapted with permission from Ref. [30]. © 2013, Springer Nature.

Figure 5

Representative Demonstrations of Serpentine Wiring Strategies in Stretchable Electronics. (a) Schematic illustration of the fabrication process for planar serpentine interconnects on soft elastomeric substrates via transfer printing, along with optical images comparing the morphology of interconnects in unstretched and stretched states. (b) Experimental 3D optical profilometry and corresponding finite element analysis (FEA) results showing out-of-plane displacement distributions of serpentine interconnects fabricated on Sylgard 184 substrates with different thicknesses under 30% tensile strain. Adapted with permission from Ref. [33]. © 2017, Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim. (c) Design concept of high-density stretchable transistor arrays where inorganic TFTs are embedded directly on serpentine wiring structures to achieve full mechanical compliance. (d) Fabricated oxide thin-film transistors (TFTs) based on enhanced multi-gate structures, enabling stretchable device operation with improved electrical performance and simplified lithographic processing. Adapted from Ref. [34]. © 2022, The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (e) Photographic demonstrations of a self-healing serpentine conductor (SSC) under stretching, twisting, and immersion in water, illustrating its robustness and waterproof characteristics. (f) Optical images of the SSC surface before and after self-healing, and schematic representation of the self-healing mechanism based on hydrogen bonding and reversible dynamic interactions within the WPU sheath. Adapted with permission from Ref. [35]. © 2023, Elsevier.

Figure 6

Schematic and performance analysis of stretchable display systems based on island–bridge configurations. (a) Fabrication process and cross-sectional structure of a stretchable display incorporating rigid micro-LED islands interconnected via deformable bridges. (b) Operational characteristics of the stretchable panel under biaxial elongation, demonstrating mechanical durability up to 34% strain. Adapted with permission from Ref. [41]. © 2023, Society for Information Display. (c) Stretchable OLED architecture incorporating vertically aligned stress-relief pillars between active layers and substrate for enhanced mechanical compliance. (d) Finite element simulation showing reduced stress concentration in the pillar-supported OLED structure. Adapted with permission from Ref. [42]. © 2020, American Chemical Society. (e) Optical and 3D deformation profiles of the stretchable OLED under various strain levels. (f) FEA results illustrating strain distribution and vertical displacement in pillar-integrated OLED structures under mechanical stretching. Adapted from Ref. [43]. © 2024, The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Figure 8

Smart textile implementations based on stretchable display technology. (a) Weavable and highly efficient organic light-emitting fibers integrated into textile substrates, enabling flexible and durable emission across complex surfaces. Adapted with permission from Ref. [51]. © 2018, American Chemical Society. (b) RGB-color textile-based flexible and transparent OLEDs demonstrating high-quality color rendering and seamless textile compatibility for aesthetic wearable applications. Reproduced from Ref. [52]. © 2022, The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Figure 9

Energy-autonomous systems for wearable electronics. (a) Structure and photographs of stretchable organic solar cells based on ITO-free anti-reflection substrates. (b) Device performance under various illumination conditions, including current density–voltage characteristics and spectral response. Adapted with permission from Ref. [64]. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH. (c) Schematic of an ultraflexible integrated energy harvesting–storage system with OPV modules, batteries, and power management on a stretchable substrate. (d) Electrical stability and charging performance of the system under mechanical deformation and light exposure. Reproduced from Ref. [65]. © 2024 The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Figure 10

Research on the integration of artificial intelligence with stretchable sensing systems. (a) General framework of AI-enabled stretchable electronics, illustrating how discrete and multimodal biosignals are processed through ML models for intelligent applications. Adapted from Ref. [71]. © 2021 Wiley-VCH GmbH. Reproduced with permission. (b) Ultralight and biocompatible all-fiber motion sensor (AFMS) integrated with AI algorithms for motion monitoring and wearable electronics. Reproduced from Ref. [72]. © 2022 The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. (c) Conceptual design and implementation of a smart glove system using a sandwich-structured mechanoluminescent film and deep learning-based AI for high-accuracy hand gesture recognition. Reproduced from Ref. [73]. © 2025 The Authors. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.