Stretchable and reflective displays: materials, technologies and strategies

Displays play a significant role in delivering information and providing visual data across all media platforms. Among displays, the prominence of reflective displays is increasing, in the form of E-paper, which has features distinct from emissive displays. These unique features include high visibility under daylight conditions, reduced eye strain and low power consumption, which make them highly effective for outdoor use. Furthermore, such characteristics enable reflective displays to achieve high synergy in combination with wearable devices, which are frequently used for outdoor activities. However, as wearable devices must stretch to conform to the dynamic surfaces of the human body, the issue of how to fabricate stretchable reflective displays should be tackled prior to merging them with wearable devices. In this paper, we discuss stretchable and reflective displays. In particular, we focus on reflective displays that can be divided into two types, passive and active, according to their responses to stretching. Passive displays, which consist of dyes or pigments, exhibit consistent colors under stretching, while active displays, which are based on mechanochromic materials, change their color under the same conditions. We will provide a comprehensive overview of the materials and technologies for each display type, and present strategies for stretchable and reflective displays.