In the rising field of stretchable electronics, liquid metals are ideal candidate conductors with metallic conductivity and intrinsic deformability. The complex patterning methods of liquid metal features have limited their widespread applications. In this study, we report a maskless fabrication approach for the facile and scalable patterning of liquid metal conductors on an elastomer substrate. Laser-activated patterns are employed as versatile templates to define arbitrary liquid metal patterns. The as-prepared liquid metal features show an excellent conductivity of 3.72 × 104 S/cm, a high resolution of 70 μm, ultrahigh stretchability of up to 1000% strain, and electromechanical durability. The practical suitability of liquid metal conductors is demonstrated by fabricating a stretchable light-emitting diode (LED) matrix and a smart sensing glove. The maskless fabrication technique introduced here allows versatile patterning of liquid metal conductors with affordable costs, which may stimulate a broad range of applications in stretchable electronic devices and systems.
Keywords: liquid metal; maskless fabrication; stretchable conductor; stretchable electronics; wearable electronics.