11‐5: Invited Paper: Evolving into an Era of Natively Flexible Smart Systems

Abstract

Natively flexible electronics allow for ultra‐thin functionality to be added to wearable, conformal large‐area sensing applications, reducing or eliminating the need for bulky rigid components and dramatically improving both form factor and cost of the final system. Flexible Hybrid Electronics (FHE), which combine flexible and rigid components, are increasingly used for sensing applications like health patches, industrial sensing, robotics, augmented and virtual reality, etc. Thin‐Film Transistor (TFT) display manufacturing technologies are well established and have been leading the drive for cost and form‐factor optimization. In this article, we review an intersection of these technologies for sensing applications, predicting the emergence of smart systems made up of only low cost natively flexible electronic components including printed sensors, flexible ICs, printed batteries, printed antennas, and flexible displays.