Latest Research on Synthesis and Characterization of Flexible Electronic Materials and Devices

Dear Colleagues,

Flexible electronics add a paradigm of bulk stress to conventional electronics. In flexible electronics, the active materials, electrodes and interconnects are expected to withstand tensile and compressive stresses without affecting the overall performance of the electronic module. Fundamentally, the stress affects the current flow causing increased ohmic losses in the circuits and thus adversely affecting their performance. At the same time, the stress on the electronic circuit can be used as an added sensing parameter. Naturally, controlling these stresses during the active lifetime of the electronic modules comprises a large part of the current research in Flexible Electronic Materials and Devices. It combines the fundamentals of electronic engineering with mechanical engineering. Another major challenge in flexible electronics is the low processing temperature window. The majority of the flexible substrates cannot withstand temperatures above 100–150 C (except for some materials like Polyimide that can sustain temperatures up to 300 C). Thus, many of the conventional high-temperature fabrication processes are not compatible with flexible materials, which leads to another major research area in Flexible electronics, which focuses on alternative fabrication processes like additive manufacturing of active materials and electrodes on flexible substrates at low temperatures.  With these interesting additional features, the applications of flexible electronics have entered new dimensions, e.g., in low-cost wearable electronics technology, which was previously not accessible to traditional rigid electron low-cost works, performance improvements have been shown by using novel semiconductor–polymer nanomaterials, flexible substrates and unique processing methods. It will provide a large surface area, reasonable sensitivity, selectivity, bendability, breathability, lightweight, long-lasting and conformable and enhance the sensing and wearing capabilities. The synthesis of flexible/stretchable substrates and printing of inorganic, organic and hybrid semiconductors  (i.e., 1D, 2D and 3D) are crucial components for developing wearable electronics

Keeping in mind the key research interests in the field of flexible electronics, this Special Issue on “Latest Research on Flexible Electronic Materials and Devices” seeks high-quality works focusing on the following topics (but not limited to):

• Flexible/stretchable substrates: Material synthesis and characterizations.
• Printing of active layers, and electrodes: inorganic, organic and hybrid semiconductors (i.e., 1D, 2D and 3D) materials.
• Flexible and wearable sensors, circuits and device components.

Dr. Satyaranjan Bairagi
Dr. Rudra Mukherjee
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Processes is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• flexible electronics
• strain management in electronic devices, additive manufacturing,
• reliability of flexible circuits
• 1-D and 2-D materials for flexible electronics