Exploring Wide‐Range Alkyl Bridge Length Variations in Polymer Semiconductors: From Pristine to Blend Films for High‐Mobility Stretchable TFTs
The development of intrinsically stretchable thin-film transistors (TFTs) with high mobility is essential for next-generation deformable electronics, including wearable displays and bio-integrated systems. However, most approaches to improve stretchability in polymer semiconductors compromise charge transport due to disrupted molecular ordering. Here, we report a systematic exploration of wide-range of alkyl bridge length variations of donor-acceptor-type conjugated polymers to control crystallinity and morphology without altering the polymer backbone. We also propose a method to quantify the relative degree of crystallinity, enabling comparison across different polymer systems. When blended with an elastomer and aligned via solution shearing, the optimized polymer exhibited a maximum mobility of 6.4 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>-1</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> at 0% strain (V<sub>DS</sub> = -40 V). The polymer stretchable device maintained measurable mobility (0.6 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>-1</sup> s<sup>-1</sup>) at 100% strain under the perpendicular to the channel direction under a low V<sub>DS</sub> of -10 V. Furthermore, wafer-scale photopatterning enabled fabrication of a 38-device intrinsically stretchable TFT array with high uniformity and an average mobility of 5.5 cm<sup>2</sup> V<sup>-1</sup> s<sup>-1</sup> at 0% strain. This work establishes a molecular design framework that elucidates the link between structure, mechanical resilience, and electrical performance, offering generalizable principles and a scalable platform for high-performance deformable electronics.
Authors
- EunA Kim
- Sung‐Gyu Kang
- Joo‐Young Kim
- Yasutaka Kuzumoto
- Seon‐Jeong Lim (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0877-5372)
- Jaebong Jung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1585-7536)
- B. H. Lee
- Jisoo Shin
- Ajeong Choi
- Youngjun Yun
- Younhee Lim
- Hyunbum Kang
- Sangah Gam
- Gae Hwang Lee
- Kyunghun Kim
- Hyungjun Kim
Institutions
- Hallym University (KR)
- Samsung (South Korea) (KR)
- University of Ulsan (KR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Small
- Published
- 2026-01-12
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/smll.202511011
- Primary Topic
- Advanced Sensor and Energy Harvesting Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Research Foundation
- Korea Basic Science Institute
- National Research Foundation of Korea
- Ministry of Science and ICT, South Korea