This insulating film material is claimed to stretch to 2.5 times its original length and then returns to its original shape, a feature that is said to be hard to find in conventional flexible materials. It adapts to desired manners of folding and to varying free-form surfaces, reducing existing design constraints. For example, it is said to enable the construction of soft and stretchable electronic devices that are adaptable to a variety of forms.
Using a stretchable resin as a base material, Panasonic has also developed a transparent electrode material and conductive paste that remain conductive even after repeated cycles of stretch and restore. The transparent electrode material comprises a thin conductive layer of carbon nanotubes formed on the base material of stretchable resin. The conductive paste was produced by combining the stretchable resin, used as a binder, with silver filler.
The newly developed material is claimed to be deployable in a range of applications, from wearable devices to sensors, displays, and robots.
