Thermally drawn advanced functional fibers: New frontier of flexible electronics

• DOI: 10.1016/j.mattod.2019.11.006
• Publication Date: 2020-01-03T17:21:29Z
• Authors: Wei Yan; Chaoqun Dong; Yuanzhuo Xiang; Shan Jiang; Andreas Leber; Gabriel Loke; Wenxin Xu; Chong Hou; Shifeng Zhou; Min Chen; Run Hu; Perry Ping Shum; Lei Wei; Xiaoting Jia; Fabien Sorin; Xiaoming Tao; Guangming Tao
• Keywords: Stretchable electronics; Flexible Electronics

Electronic devices are evolving from rigid into flexible and stretchable structures, enabling a seamless integration of electronics our everyday lives. The variety electronic materials within thermal-drawn fibers has emerged as versatile platform for the fabrication advanced functional fiber electronics. This approach exploits thermal drawing macroscopic preform, where or prefabricated arranged at prescribed position, yielding kilometers with sophisticated architecture complex functionalities in very simple scalable manner. A single strand that incorporates disparate electronic, optoelectronics, thermomechanical, rheological acoustic properties can see objects, hear sound, sense stimuli, communicate, store convert energy, modulate temperature, monitor health dissect brains. Integrating these fabrics, ancient yet largely underdeveloped forms, is setting stage fabrics to be next frontier computation Artificial Intelligence. Here, we critically review development thermally drawn highlight their unique opportunities communications, sensing, artificial muscles, 3-D printing, healthcare, neuroscience well in-fiber fundamental research. We conclude some perspectives realizing an analogue "Moore's law" remaining challenges future