Polyethylene Terephthalate Substrate Research Articles

A compact tri-notched flexible UWB antenna based on an inkjet-printable and plasma-activated silver nano ink.

The rapid development of ultrawideband (UWB) communication systems has resulted in increasing performance requirements for the antenna system. In addition to a wide bandwidth, fast propagation rates and compact dimensions, flexibility, wearability or portability are also desirable for UWB antennas, as are excellent notch characteristics. Although progress has been made in the development of flexible/wearable antennas desired notch properties are still rather limited. Moreover, most presently available flexible UWB antennas are fabricated using environmentally not attractive subtractive etching-based processes. The usage of facile additive sustainably inkjet printing processes also utilizing low temperature plasma-activated conductive inks is rarely reported. In addition, the currently used tri-notched flexible UWB antenna designs have a relatively large footprint, which poses difficulties when integrated into miniaturized and compact communication devices. In this work, a silver nano ink is used to fabricate the antenna via inkjet printing and an efficient plasma sintering procedure. For the targeted UWB applications miniaturized tri-notched flexible antenna is realized on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate with a compact size of 17.6 mm × 16 mm × 0.12 mm. The antenna operates in the UWB frequency band (2.9-10.61 GHz), and can shield interferences from WiMAX (3.3-3.6 GHz), WLAN (5.150-5.825 GHz) and X-uplink (7.9-8.4 GHz) bands, as well as exhibits a certain of bendability. Three nested "C" slots of different sizes were adopted to achieve notch features. The simulation and test results demonstrate that the proposed antenna can generate signal radiation in the desired UWB frequency band while retaining the desired notch properties and having acceptable SAR values on-body, making it a viable candidate for usage in flexible or wearable communication transmission devices. The research provides a facile and highly efficient method for fabricating flexible/wearable UWB antennas, that is, the effective combination of inkjet printing processing, flexible substrates, low temperature-activated conductive ink and antenna structure design.

Flexible Organic Electrochemical Transistor Based on Conjugated Conducting Polymers

In this work, we have fabricated a side-gated organic electrochemical transistor (OECT) where the source, drain, and gate terminals are screen-printed on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate through a scalable screen-printing process. The semiconducting channel material is made of polyethylene dioxythiophene: polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT: PSS), applied via spray coating. The OECT operates by volumetric gating of the channel through a gel electrolyte containing poly sodium 4-styrene sulfonate, transitioning highly conductive PEDOT+ to PEDOT0 through de-doping, biased by a positive gate voltage. Additionally, the OECT displayed a transconductance (gm) of 62.5 µA/V, mobility (µ) of 6.6×106 cm2 / Vs, and a threshold voltage (Vth) of -0.39 V, with the ON/OFF ratio being relatively low at 33.2. The repeatability was confirmed through the fabrication of three devices that exhibited nearly identical behavior. Future work emphasizes functionalizing the electrolyte to detect biomolecules such as glucose, pH, and ion species.

Inkjet-printed heater on flexible substrates for low voltage applications

Flexible heaters (FHs) have applications ranging from defoggers to flexural warmers, food processors, and thermotherapy. Printed FHs are particularly of interest as they offer unique advantages like high resolution, customization, low cost, and ease of fabrication. Here, we report printed FHs on polyethylene terephthalate substrate. The heater design is optimized to operate on a low voltage of five volts and yield high temperatures with a uniform temperature distribution across the surface. The heater has a fast response time of 15 s to reach its maximum temperature and does not show any degradation in performance after three months of operation. The heater maintains its temperature after continuous use for two hours and exhibits a minimum change in temperature upon bending. We have also developed and tested designs for zone heaters and nano heaters, where zone heater is suited for applications requiring heating in specified locations on a surface only. Whereas nano heater has an area of 1 mm2 and can produce high temperatures in this small area. Finally, we developed similar printed heaters on paper and polyimide (PI) substrates as well. Paper-based heater can achieve a temperature of 210 °C and can be used in disposable applications due to its low cost, whereas PI heater can achieve a temperature of 380 °C and is suitable for attaining high temperatures. These results manifest the use of FHs for various practical applications.

Facile Nanowelding Process for Silver Nanowire Electrodes Toward High‐Performance Large‐Area Flexible Organic Light‐Emitting Diodes

AbstractDespite considerable interest, uniform and robust flexible transparent conducting electrodes (FTCEs) that can be seamlessly integrated and used for highly efficient large‐area flexible oganic light‐emitting diodes (OLEDs) remain elusive. In this study, a large‐area fabrication of uniform transparent electrodes for high‐performance flexible OLEDs by exploiting the rapid nanowelding process of silver nanowires (AgNWs) onto polyethylene terephthalate substrate under Xe‐lamp irradiation and mechanical pressing treatment is reported. The performance of AgNWs FTCEs is significantly enhanced by applying the Xe‐lamp beam irradiation for 5 s and subsequent compression at 20 MPa for 15 s, achieving a low sheet resistance of 26.5 Ω sq−1, a high transmittance of 95.2% (at 550 nm), and very smooth surfaces with root‐mean‐square of 5.4 nm. Meanwhile, the nanowelded AgNWs FTCEs maintain excellent electrical conductivity (only a 2.96% increase in ΔR/R0) after 1000 bending cycles. The resulting AgNWs FTCEs‐based green phosphorescent OLED achieves an unprecedented external quantum efficiency (EQE) of 23.7% and a current efficiency as high as 81.5 cd A−1. Benefiting from the uniform properties for resulting AgNWs FTCEs, the fabricated flexible OLED with a large area of 25 × 25 mm2 still retains a high EQE of 22.2% and a current efficiency of 78.0 cd A−1.

Screen-Printed Metamaterial Absorber Using Fractal Metal Mesh for Optical Transparency and Flexibility

In stealth applications, there is a growing emphasis on the development of radar-absorbing structures that are efficient, flexible, and optically transparent. This study proposes a screen-printed metamaterial absorber (MMA) on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates using indium tin oxide (ITO) as the grounding layer, which achieves both optical transparency and flexibility. These materials and methods enhance the overall flexibility and transparency of MMA. To address the limited transparency caused by the silver nanoparticle ink for the top pattern, a metal mesh was incorporated to reduce the area ratio of the printed patterns, thereby enhancing transparency. By incrementing the fractal order of the structure, we optimized the operating frequency to target the X-band, which is most commonly used in radar detection. The proposed MMA demonstrates remarkable performance, with a measured absorption of 91.99% at 8.85 GHz and an average optical transmittance of 46.70% across the visible light spectrum (450 to 700 nm), indicating its potential for applications in transparent windows or drone stealth.

Reconfigurable screen-printed terahertz frequency selective surface based on metallic checkerboard pattern

We employed the screen-printing method to fabricate terahertz (THz) frequency selective surfaces (FSSs) featuring an inductive metallic checkerboard (i-MCB) pattern based on conductive silver ink onto a flexible polyethylene terephthalate substrate, chosen for its excellent THz transmission properties below 1 THz [Jin et al 2006 J. Korean Phys. Soc. 49 513–17]. Analytical studies, along with simulations and experiments, were conducted to investigate the filtering characteristics of the printed FSSs, confirming their functionality as a band-pass filter. Subsequently, we demonstrated the reconfigurability of a two-layer system by vertically stacking two layers. This was achieved by systematically shifting the position of the second layer in the x or y-direction relative to the first layer. Experimental verification revealed a significant variation in normalized transmission, ranging from 94% to 6% at 0.15 THz for type-I:i-MCBs and 90% to 5% at 0.20 THz for type-II:i-MCBs, respectively. This study presents a simple scheme for a reconfigurable screen-printed i-MCB-FSS operating in the THz range. Consequently, our findings demonstrate that screen printing method can effectively be employed for the large-scale production of THz FSSs.

Bonding strength enhancement of a 30-wt.% GF/PET–2024 aluminium alloy joint by synergistic action of multi-scale mechanical interlocking and multiplex H-bonding

In this study, micro-scale cellular and nano-scale labyrinth structures were obtained on the surface of A2024 aluminium alloy adherends through ultrasonic-aided corrosion using an FeCl3 etchant solution to significantly enhance the mechanical interlock of it and a 30-wt.% glass-fibre-enhanced polyethylene terephthalate substrate. The tensile shear strength of the 30-wt.% GF/PET–A2024 joint was increased to 31.84 MPa. The subsequent treatment of an appropriate amount of KH-892/PVA transformed the surface of the aluminium alloy from hydrophobic to hydrophilic to significantly improve its wettability. Furthermore, this treatment generated multiplex hydrogen bonding of O–H⋯O⋯H–N at the interface, further improving the tensile shear strength of the joint up to 50.94 MPa, which is significantly higher than the values obtained using exiting methods. The tensile shear tests of a ring-shaped insulator specimen according to GB 7251-87 verified the improved fracture work equation herein and the bonding strength enhancement of the 30-wt.% GF/PET–A2024 aluminium alloy joint treated by ultrasonic-aided corrosion with an FeCl3 etchant solution and pre-coating of an appropriate amount of KH-892/PVA.

Wireless Flexible System for Highly Sensitive Ammonia Detection Based on Polyaniline/Carbon Nanotubes.

Ammonia (NH3) is a harmful atmospheric pollutant and an important indicator of environment, health, and food safety conditions. Wearable devices with flexible gas sensors offer convenient real-time NH3 monitoring capabilities. A flexible ammonia gas sensing system to support the internet of things (IoT) is proposed. The flexible gas sensor in this system utilizes polyaniline (PANI) with multiwall carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) decoration as a sensitive material, coated on a silver interdigital electrode on a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate. Gas sensors are combined with other electronic components to form a flexible electronic system. The IoT functionality of the system comes from a microcontroller with Wi-Fi capability. The flexible gas sensor demonstrates commendable sensitivity, selectivity, humidity resistance, and long lifespan. The experimental data procured from the sensor reveal a remarkably low detection threshold of 0.3 ppm, aligning well with the required specifications for monitoring ammonia concentrations in exhaled breath gas, which typically range from 0.425 to 1.8 ppm. Furthermore, the sensor demonstrates a negligible reaction to the presence of interfering gases, such as ethanol, acetone, and methanol, thereby ensuring high selectivity for ammonia detection. In addition to these attributes, the sensor maintains consistent stability across a range of environmental conditions, including varying humidity levels, repeated bending cycles, and diverse angles of orientation. A portable, stable, and effective flexible IoT system solution for real-time ammonia sensing is demonstrated by collecting data at the edge end, processing the data in the cloud, and displaying the data at the user end.

Thermal Radiation Annealing for Overcoming Processing Temperature Limitation of Flexible Perovskite Solar Cells.

Common polymeric conductive electrodes, such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) coated with indium tin oxide, face a major challenge of their low processing-temperature limits, attributed to PET's low glass transition temperature (Tg of 70-80°C). This limitation significantly narrows the scope of material selection, limits the processing techniques applicable to the low Tg, and hinders the ripened technology transfer from glass substrates to them. Addressing the temperature constraints of the flexible substrates is impactful yet underexplored, with broader implications for fields beyond photovoltaics. Here we introduce a new thermal radiation annealing methodology to address this issue. By applying above Tg radiation annealing in conjunction with thermoelectric cooling, we successfully create highly ordered molecular packing on PET substrates, which are exclusively unachievable due to PET's low thermal tolerance. As a result, in the context of perovskite solar cells, this approach enables the circumvention of high-temperature annealing limitations of PET substrates, leading to a remarkable flexible device efficiency of 22.61% and a record fill factor of 83.42%. This approach proves especially advantageous for advancing the field of flexible optoelectronic devices. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

On the mechanism of piezoresistance in nanocrystalline graphite.

Strain sensors are sensitive to mechanical deformations and enable the detection of strain also within integrated electronics. For flexible displays, the use of a seamlessly integrated strain sensor would be beneficial, and graphene is already in use as a transparent and flexible conductor. However, graphene intrinsically lacks a strong response, and only by engineering defects, such as grain boundaries, one can induce piezoresistivity. Nanocrystalline graphene (NCG), a derivative form of graphene, exhibits a high density of defects in the form of grain boundaries. It holds an advantage over graphene in easily achieving wafer-scale growth with controlled thickness. In this study, we explore the piezoresistivity in thin films of nanocrystalline graphite. Simultaneous measurements of sheet resistance and externally applied strain on NCG placed on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrates provide intriguing insights into the underlying mechanism. Raman measurements, in conjunction with strain applied to NCG grown on flexible glass, indicate that the strain is concentrated at the grain boundaries for smaller strain values. For larger strains, mechanisms such as grain rotation and the formation of nanocracks might contribute to the piezoresistive behavior in nanocrystalline graphene.

Preparation of robust superhydrophobic surface on PET substrate using Box-Behnken design and facile sanding method with PTFE powder

Superhydrophobic surfaces have attracted increasing interests due to their excellent features, while achieving facile preparation of superhydrophobic surface with good mechanical stability is still a challenging work. In this paper, we prepared a superhydrophobic surface by sanding polytetrafluoroethylene powder directly onto the surface of a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film by means of a simple sanding method with sandpaper. The fabrication parameters were firstly optimized using response surface methodology. Surface morphology and chemical composition of the fabricated surface were characterized by field emission scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. The mechanical performance of the superhydrophobic PET surfaces was evaluated by tape peeling test, and potential applications of this surface in self-cleaning and anti-icing were finally carried out. The results showed that the water contact angle up to 153.5° and sliding angle less than ∼3° on PET surface could be prepared under the optimum conditions, and its superhydrophobicity of surfaces was attributed to the synergistically effect of low surface energy and surface roughness. The fabricated superhydrophobic surfaces also exhibited good resistance to abrasion, and they have great potential for application in the fields of self-cleaning and anti-icing.

The Ammunition Projectile Test and Evaluation Used Polymer Flexible Film Sensors System Design and Application

Background. The mainly lethal ability of ammunition fragments on creatures is achieved by hitting the effective organs or key parts of the biological body with high-speed projectiles. How to efficiently and accurately obtain the projectile speed and hitting position coordinates when the fragment hits the creature after the ammunition blast is the key to the scientific evaluation of ammunition power. Materials and Methods. For the measurement of fragment velocity and hitting coordinates, a series of flexible film circuit sensors can be generated by printing comb-like circuits on polyethylene terephthalate substrates using silver paste printing technology. These sensors are cheap, flexible, and easy to fold and can be printed into different shapes according to the characteristics of the test target to simulate the biological key organs or lethal parts. At the same time, the software and hardware design of the high-speed data signal reading and processing module can realize the data rapidly recording and processing and quickly give the ammunition fragment parameter test results. Results. The test accuracy of the fragment velocity of the laser light screen target and the flexible circuit sensor is compared through the live-fire test. It is proved that the test accuracy of the flexible sensor based on the polymer substrate can meet the accuracy requirements. The flexible sensor based on the organ simulation can quickly give the accurate hit position of the fragment. Conclusion. The newly polymer substrate printed circuit sensor system is a new type of sensor used to replace the laser screen target, and the copper comb printed circuit in the ammunition power test, which can improve the parameter test accuracy, reduce the test consumption, and improve the test quality.

Highly sensitive screen-printed soil moisture sensor array as green solutions for sustainable precision agriculture

Monitoring soil moisture in real-time is an important parameter that helps farmers decide to enhance agriculture productivity and reduce resource wastage for better production and plant growth. In this work, we presented an easy-to-use and highly sensitive screen-printed flexible soil moisture sensor array to monitor soil moisture remotely for precision agriculture. The proposed sensor is based on a unique interdigitated electrode (IDE)-based capacitive structure with conductive carbon ink printed on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate using the screen printing technique. Before soil moisture monitoring, the sensor is tested for humidity monitoring in an environmental chamber. A response of ∼144–1760 pF for 20–100%RH with 10%RH variation is observed for a single sensor, while an array configuration ranges from ∼127–1802 pF. The sensor response is observed for a temperature range from 20 to 50 ‘C. The sensor's sensitivity for relative humidity sensing is 19.123%pF/RH, and the response and recovery time are ∼3.3 s and ∼4.2 s. Further, the sensor is tested for soil moisture sensing, as moisture content is gradually added to the completely dry soil. A highly sensitive response for soil moisture content (MC) with a ∼40.7%pF/MC sensitivity is obtained. The sensor data is transmitted wirelessly using a Bluetooth module. The sensor is supported by a wooden stick, which illustrates the capabilities of biodegradability, the sensor is cost-effective and provides a real-time measurement for soil moisture. The sensors have the potential to provide maintenance-free monitoring, facilitating precise control of irrigation practices in precision agriculture. With their affordability and ability to operate on a large scale, the sensor offers promising opportunities for enhancing irrigation systems.

Copper-Enriched Nanostructured Conductive Thermoelectric Copper(I) Iodide Films Obtained by Chemical Solution Deposition on Flexible Substrates

The objects of our research are flexible thin-film thermoelectric materials with nanostructured CuI layers 0.5–1.0 μm thick, fabricated by the chemical solution method Successive Ionic Layer Adsorption and Reaction (SILAR) on flexible polyethylene terephthalate and polyimide substrates. These cubic γ-CuI films differ from films obtained by other chemical solution methods, such as spin-coating, sputtering, and inject printing, in their low resistivity due to acceptor impurities of sulfur and oxygen introduced into CuI from aqueous precursor solutions during SILAR deposition. Energy barriers at the boundaries of 18–22 nm CuI nanograins and a large number of charge carriers inside the nanograins determine the transport properties in the temperature interval 295–340 K characterized by transitions from semiconductor to metallic behavior with increasing temperature, which are typical of nanostructured degenerate semiconductors. Due to the resistivity of about 0.8 mΩ· m at 310 K and the Seebeck coefficient 101 μV/K, the thermoelectric power factor of the CuI film 1.0 μm thick on the polyimide substrate is 12.3 μW/(m · K2), which corresponds to modern thin-film p-type thermoelectric materials. It confirms the suitability of CuI films obtained by the SILAR method for the fabrication of promising inexpensive non-toxic flexible thermoelectric materials.

Adaptive Gap-Tunable Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy.

Gap plasmon (GP) resonance in static surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) structures is generally too narrow and not tunable. Here, we present an adaptive gap-tunable SERS device to selectively enhance and modulate different vibrational modes via active flexible Au nanogaps, with adaptive optical control. The tunability of GP resonance is up to ∼1200 cm-1 by engineering gap width, facilitated by mechanical bending of a polyethylene terephthalate substrate. We confirm that the tuned GP resonance selectively enhances different Raman spectral regions of the molecules. Additionally, we dynamically control the SERS intensity through the wavefront shaping of excitation beams. Furthermore, we demonstrate simulation results, exhibiting the mechanical and optical properties of a one-dimensional flexible nanogap and their advantage in high-speed biomedical sensing. Our work provides a unique approach for observing and controlling the enhanced chemical responses with dynamic tunability.

Optical wireless communication using a flexible and waterproof perovskite color converter.

In this Letter, the CH3NH3PbBr3 nanocrystals (NCs) are embedded into the interstices of the fluorine (polyvinyl fluoride/polyvinylidene fluoride, PVF/PVDF) matrix on polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate to introduce new advantages, such as being flexible and waterproof, while maintaining the high optical performance of perovskites. The sample's photoluminescence (PL) spectra under 325 nm laser is a green emission peaked at 537 nm with full width at half maximum (FWHM) of about 21.2 nm and a fast PL decay time. As a color converter, it shows high optical absorption and can transform light from solar-blind ultraviolet to a blue region into a green region in air, water, and bending conditions. While excited by a 270 nm ultraviolet light-emitting diode (LED), the system's observed -3 dB bandwidth with the color converter is near 4.4 MHz in air and water conditions with well-eye diagrams at a data rate of 30 Mbps. Finally, we demonstrate an audio transmission application with an ultraviolet light source, a color conversion layer, and a low-cost silicon-based photodetector.

Ti3C2Tx MXene-based all-resistive dual-mode sensor with near-zero temperature coefficient of resistance for crosstalk-free pressure and temperature detections

All-resistive pressure and temperature dual-mode sensors are always a focus of attention in the field of flexible tactile sensing due to the lack of need for complex readout systems. However, the intrinsic temperature coefficient of resistance (TCR) of the active material greatly limits crosstalk-free detection of pressure. Herein, a near-zero TCR of −2.1 × 10−3% °C−1 has been achieved from a simple sandwich structure with a Ti3C2Tx MXene film printed on a polyethylene terephthalate substrate and encapsulated by a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film. The mechanism is explained by the combination of PDMS thermal expansion and the negative TCR of MXene, which is certified by the simulations of their mechanical, thermal and electrical properties. In addition, a silver film is printed on the PDMS surface in contact with MXene film to form a temperature-independent pressure sensor based on two-phase contact mechanism with different conductivities. Moreover, a pressure-independent temperature sensor is constructed by opening a square hole in the PDMS encapsulated above another MXene film. Given their independent structures, the dual-mode sensing units are flexibly expandable on the same substrate to suit various application scenarios. For example, they are integrated into a glove to detect pressure and temperature without crosstalk in multiple states. Owing to the exceptional crosstalk-free detection and expandability, the sensor developed in this work hold immense promise for multifunctional tactile sensing.

Room Temperature NH3 Selective Gas Sensors Based on Double-Shell Hierarchical SnO2@polyaniline Composites.

Morphology and structure play a crucial role in influencing the performance of gas sensors. Hollow structures, in particular, not only increase the specific surface area of the material but also enhance the collision frequency of gases within the shell, and have been studied in depth in the field of gas sensing. Taking SnO2 as an illustrative example, a dual-shell structure SnO2 (D-SnO2) was prepared. D-SnO2@Polyaniline (PANI) (DSPx, x represents D-SnO2 molar content) composites were synthesized via the in situ oxidative polymerization method, and simultaneously deposited onto a polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate to fabricate an electrode-free, flexible sensor. The impact of the SnO2 content on the sensing performance of the DSPx-based sensor for NH3 detection at room temperature was discussed. The results showed that the response of a 20 mol% D-SnO2@PANI (DSP20) sensor to 100 ppm NH3 at room temperature is 37.92, which is 5.1 times higher than that of a pristine PANI sensor. Moreover, the DSP20 sensor demonstrated a rapid response and recovery rate at the concentration of 10 ppm NH3, with response and recovery times of 182 s and 86 s.

MoS2 based flexible photodetector for broadband visible light photodetection

In recent years, flexible photodetectors (PD) have emerged as a significant innovation with potential applications in healthcare, security, and environmental monitoring. Two-dimensional (2D) layers of metal dichalcogenides MoS2 have gathered significant attention due to their ultrathin thickness and promising applications in the fields of flexible PD. 2H phase of MoS2 micro-flowers were synthesized by facile hydrothermal route. Raman spectra was employed to analyze the quality of grown MoS2 and confirmed with E12g and A1g Raman phonon modes. The micro-flower morphological was verified through FESEM. Subsequently, PD device was fabricated through bar coating method over a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate and Indium Tin oxide (ITO) was employed as an electrode. Photodetection property of the device was tested under dark and illumination. MoS2-microflower PD exhibit good photoresponsivity and detectivity of 1.5 µA/W and 105 Jones at 5 V respectively. Moreover, detector demonstrated remarkable flexibility and exceptional air stability.

The influence of Pt islands on the failure of Pt thin film on a flexible PET substrate

Flexible electronic devices must adapt to compliant polymeric substrates, thus maintaining the mechanical integrity of the multilayer systems is crucial. This study investigates the mechanical failure caused by active islands, focusing on how Pt islands influence the failure mechanism of a thin Pt film on a flexible polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate under uniaxial tensile loading. Tensile testing of the Pt film/PET bilayer revealed a failure progression in the Pt blanket film, characterized by crack initiation, elongation and merging, eventually delamination, and buckling, with the increase in tensile strain. Pt islands induced early crack initiation at comparatively low strains due to increased stress near their vertical edges. The impact of island shape and gap on the crack formation in a Pt film was subsequently investigated. The gap between islands, oriented perpendicular to the loading direction, has minimal impact on crack number and density; the presence of Pt islands reduced the stress in the Pt film within the gap, thereby lowering the susceptibility of cracking in these areas. Variations in island shape and gap along loading direction alter the stress profile in the film between islands but did not significantly impact crack density. Crack density is believed to be primarily associated with pre-existing defects, with the formation of cracks serving as a stress relief mechanism that prevents further crack initiation. Our study sheds light on the impact of active islands on blanket film failure and offers practical recommendations to mitigate crack formation, which may contribute to the optimisation of flexible electronics design.