Samsung develops stretchable OLED skin display - We explain what it is

South Korean electronic giant Samsung has announced that it has developed an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display that is attachable to skin and stretches according to bodily movement.

This elastic technology is expected to be of major help in wearable health devices.

The company said that the strength of this technology is that it allows you to measure your biometric data for a longer period without having to remove the solution when you sleep or exercise, since the patch feels like part of your skin. "It can be expanded to use in wearable healthcare products for adults, children and infants, as well as patients with certain diseases."

This is the first in the industry to prove the commercialization potential of stretchable devices, given that the technology is capable of being integrated with existing semiconductor processes, the company said.

The display was developed by Samsung's R&D unit, the Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology (SAIT), after successfully integrating a stretchable display with a photoplethysmography sensor into a single device.

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Stretchable technology offers flexibility in more ways than one

Stretchable technology is getting hugely popular as it allows flexible form factors for display products while keeping performance intact. Research efforts are underway on free form displays.

In this case, the SAIT team was able to modify the composition and structure of an "elastomer," a polymer compound with excellent elasticity and resilience, and use existing semiconductor manufacturing processes to apply it to the substrates of stretchable OLED displays and optical blood flow sensors.

SAIT Proto System (Image credit: Samsung Electronics)

Samsung said that the sensor and display continued to operate normally and did not exhibit any performance degradation up to a 30% increase in size from its static form.

This technology takes advantage of the existing semiconductor fabrication processing, and hastens the process of commercialization of stretchable devices with high resolution and large screens.

The SAIT team hopes to expand its applications by incorporating its stretchable sensors and high-resolution freeform displays to monitor key metrics like peripheral oxygen saturation, electromyogram readings and blood pressure.

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