‘Electronic tattoos’: Could they be the future of wearables?

Japanese researchers have pushed the boundaries even further when it comes to flexible electronics for wearable medical devices. They say they used a household inkjet printer without soldering to produce 750 nm–thin elastomeric sheets that feel like “electronic tattoos.”

The result of the Waseda University researchers’ work was ultrathin stick-on electronic devices using elastomeric “nanosheet” film. The manufacturing process, they say, has ease of production along with high elasticity and flexibility.

Flexibility, in fact, was 50 times better than what has previously been achieved with polymer nanosheets, according to the Waseda University research team. They envision human-machine interfaces and sensors in the form of electronic tattoos.

They published their work Feb. 1 in the Journal of Materials Chemistry C online edition.

Flexible electronics are an important field when it comes to creating unobtrusive mobile health devices that people can basically stick on themselves and then forget. Pioneers in the field include John Rogers, a physical chemist and material scientist now at Northwestern University, who co-founded Cambridge, Mass.–based flexible electronics company MC10.

Besides perfecting inkjet printing of circuitry and low-temperature fixing, the Waseda University researchers also figured out how to join electronic components without soldering them. They connected conductive lines and elements such as chips and LEDs through adhesive sandwiching between two elastomeric nanosheets. The result was thinner and more flexible elastomer films.

The researchers used an inkjet printer one might find in a household to create the conductive “wiring;” they didn’t need clean room conditions. The Waseda University researcher claim their ultrathin electronic structures have better adhesion, without using adhesives such as tape or glue. There is also better elasticity and comfort  on the skin. They say they were able to prove functionality on an artificial skin model within days.

The Waseda University researcher claim their ultrathin electronic structures have better adhesion, without using adhesives such as tape or glue. There is also better elasticity and comfort  on the skin. They say they were able to prove functionality on an artificial skin model within days.

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