A transparent, self-healing and high-κ dielectric for low-field-emission stretchable optoelectronics

• Published in: Nature materials Vol. 19; no. 2; pp. 182 - 188
• Main Authors: Tan, Yu Jun, Godaba, Hareesh, Chen, Ge, Tan, Siew Ting Melissa, Wan, Guanxiang, Li, Guojingxian, Lee, Pui Mun, Cai, Yongqing, Li, Si, Shepherd, Robert F, Ho, John S, Tee, Benjamin C K
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Nature Publishing Group 01.02.2020
• Subjects: Capacitors; Dielectrics; Elastomers; Electrodes; Engineering; Illumination; Light emitting diodes; Lighting; Low voltage; Luminance; Optical feedback; Optoelectronic devices; Permittivity; Robots; Strain
• ISSN: 1476-1122; 1476-4660
• DOI: 10.1038/s41563-019-0548-4

Stretchable optoelectronic materials are essential for applications in wearable electronics, human-machine interfaces and soft robots. However, intrinsically stretchable optoelectronic devices such as light-emitting capacitors usually require high driving alternating voltages and excitation frequencies to achieve sufficient luminance in ambient lighting conditions. Here, we present a healable, low-field illuminating optoelectronic stretchable (HELIOS) device by introducing a transparent, high permittivity polymeric dielectric material. The HELIOS device turns on at an alternating voltage of 23 V and a frequency below 1 kHz, safe operating conditions for human-machine interactions. We achieved a brightness of 1,460 cd m at 2.5 V µm with stable illumination demonstrated up to a maximum of 800% strain. The materials also self-healed mechanically and electronically from punctures or when severed. We further demonstrate various HELIOS light-emitting capacitor devices in environment sensing using optical feedback. Moreover, our devices can be powered wirelessly, potentially enabling applications for untethered damage-resilient soft robots.