NUS researchers hold the illuminated material. (Credit: NUS)

A novel stretchable material, when used in light-emitting capacitor devices, enables highly visible illumination at low operating voltages, and it is also resilient to damage due to its self-healing properties.

This innovation, called the HELIOS (which stands for Healable, Low-field Illuminating Optoelectronic Stretchable) device, is a transparent, elastic rubber sheet made up of a unique blend of fluoroelastomer and surfactant. The high dielectric permittivity enables it to store more electronic charges at lower voltages, enabling a higher brightness when used in a light-emitting capacitor device.

Unlike existing stretchable light-emitting capacitors, HELIOS enabled devices can turn on at voltages that are four times lower and achieve illumination that is more than 20 times brighter. It also achieved an illumination of 1460 cd/m2 at 2.5 V/μm, the brightest attained by stretchable lightemitting capacitors to date. Due to the low power consumption, HELIOS can achieve a longer operating lifetime.

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