Abstract
Recent progress in fabricating flexible electronics has been significantly developed because of the increased interest in flexible electronics, which can be applied to enormous fields, not only conventional in electronic devices, but also in bio/eco-electronic devices. Flexible electronics can be applied to a wide range of fields, such as flexible displays, flexible power storages, flexible solar cells, wearable electronics, and healthcare monitoring devices. Recently, flexible electronics have been attached to the skin and have even been implanted into the human body for monitoring biosignals and for treatment purposes. To improve the electrical and mechanical properties of flexible electronics, nanoscale fabrications using novel nanomaterials are required. Advancements in nanoscale fabrication methods allow the construction of active materials that can be combined with ultrathin soft substrates to form flexible electronics with high performances and reliability. In this review, a wide range of flexible electronic applications via nanoscale fabrication methods, classified as either top-down or bottom-up approaches, including conventional photolithography, soft lithography, nanoimprint lithography, growth, assembly, and chemical vapor deposition (CVD), are introduced, with specific fabrication processes and results. Here, our aim is to introduce recent progress on the various fabrication methods for flexible electronics, based on novel nanomaterials, using application examples of fundamental device components for electronics and applications in healthcare systems.
Highlights
Standard electronic devices require multi-functional platforms in a limited substrate area
We focus on well-designed unconventional biomedical devices using the top-down approach and multifunctional flexible sensors from the bottom-up approach, including a flexible graphene transistor, photonic device, MoSe2 transistor, and light emitting diode (LED) for the initial components
Recent work demonstrates that graphene-based electrolyte-gated transistors (EGTs) can be introduced as a platform via transfer printing with a silicon stencil, to produce graphene lines [37]
Summary
Standard electronic devices require multi-functional platforms in a limited substrate area. We introduce ultrathin nano-material structures and fabrication methods that allow assemblies of heterogeneously integrated functional materials onto soft substrates, with all of the active components maintaining excellent electronic functionality. We focus on well-designed unconventional biomedical devices using the top-down approach and multifunctional flexible sensors from the bottom-up approach, including a flexible graphene transistor, photonic device, MoSe2 transistor, and light emitting diode (LED) for the initial components. These flexible and stretchable electronic systems, with performances that reach or exceed the levels of conventional electronic systems, are classified. This review summarizes some recent progress in the field of micro- and nano-electronics and showcases the practical applications of the novel electronic devices
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