Electrical engineering

Fabrication

Pathology

Bend radius

Nanotechnology

Transistor

Crystalline silicon

Mathematics

Engineering physics

Bending

Statistics

Engineering

Flexible display

Electronics

Voltage

Composite material

Thin film

Materials science

Alternative medicine

Amorphous silicon

Polycrystalline silicon

Layer (electronics)

Flexibility (engineering)

Silicon

Flexible electronics

Optoelectronics

Medicine

Thin-film transistor

Micromachines

Flexible electronics enable various technologies to be integrated into daily life and fuel the quests to develop revolutionary applications, such as artificial skins, intelligent textiles, e-skin patches, and on-skin displays. Mechanical characteristics, including the total thickness and the bending radius, are of paramount importance for physically flexible electronics. However, the limitation regarding semiconductor fabrication challenges the mechanical flexibility of thin-film electronics. Thin-Film Transistors (TFTs) are a key component in thin-film electronics that restrict the flexibility of thin-film systems. Here, we provide a brief overview of the trends of the last three decades in the physical flexibility of various semiconducting technologies, including amorphous-silicon, polycrystalline silicon, oxides, carbon nanotubes, and organics. The study demonstrates the trends of the mechanical properties, including the total thickness and the bending radius, and provides a vision for the future of flexible TFTs.

A Review of the Progress of Thin-Film Transistors and Their Technologies for Flexible Electronics