A research team at POSTECH has developed a breakthrough technology that analyzes in real-time the deformation of ‘serpentine’ structures, a critical component of stretchable technology and visualizes the method through color changes. The team, led by Professor Su Seok Choi from the Department of Electrical Engineering, included doctoral candidates Sanghyun Han, Junho Shin, Jiyoon Park, and master’s students Hakjun Yang and Seungmin Nam. The study was published within the December online edition of the international journal Advanced Science and was featured because the Inside Back Cover.
Stretchable Technology: Revolutionizing Next-Generation Electronics through Freeform Deformation
Flexible and deformable electronics have advanced beyond bendable, foldable, rollable, and slidable designs to totally stretchable systems that allow freeform deformation. Stretchable technology is gaining traction in diverse fields, comparable to displays, sensors, semiconductors, electronic skin, biomimetic robots, and smart clothing.
Stretchable technology largely relies on two approaches: creating elastic materials just like rubber and designing stretchable structures that integrate seamlessly with existing semiconductor, display, electrode, and sensor technologies. In structural stretchable technology, the serpentine interconnect — a wavy, elastic connection — plays an important role in providing elasticity to non-stretchable electronic components. Advancing this technology requires an intensive understanding of the structural characteristics and deformation processes during all stages of stretching.
Visualizing Deformation of Serpentine Structures in Real Time
Until now, analyzing deformation in serpentine structures was only possible after physical damage, comparable to breaks, had occurred. This meant researchers needed to depend on theoretical simulations or limited observational data from previous stretching cycles, hindering real-time insights into structural behavior.
The POSTECH team tackled this challenge by leveraging changes in structural color — color shifts that occur on the nanoscale during deformation. Using Chiral Liquid Crystal Elastomer (CLCE), a mechanochromic material that changes color when stretched, they developed a system that permits precise, real-time visualization of deformation in serpentine structures. Moreover, the team validated the outcomes through theoretical finite element evaluation, confirming the technology’s potential for optimized design applications.
Technological and Industrial Significance
This modern approach eliminates the necessity for complex nanofabrication processes and provides a transparent, real-time understanding of how serpentine structures deform. By offering actionable design guidelines for optimizing these structures in diverse stretching environments, this technology is poised to fast-track the commercialization of stretchable devices.
Professor Su Seok Choi remarked, “This research opens the door to express evaluation and design of the connection structures central to stretchable technology.” He added that the findings are expected to broaden applications and speed up commercialization in fields comparable to displays, semiconductors, sensors, electronic skin, smart clothing, and soft robotics.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by the Samsung Future Technology Development Program and the Stretchable Display Development and Demonstration Initiative under the Korea Planning & Evaluation Institute of Industrial Technology.
