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A solar cell developed by RIKEN physicists can be stretched without greatly affecting its ability to convert light into electricity. It is thus promising for powering the next generation of wearable electronics.

Today's smart watches can monitor an impressive array of health metrics, while more-specialist wearable devices are being developed for specific medical applications. But such devices need to be recharged periodically.

To eliminate this need, researchers are seeking to develop flexible, wearable solar cells. However, it is vital to ensure that the performance of these solar cells doesn't drop off when they are stretched by body movements during everyday life.

"We're focusing on making very thin, flexible devices. But such devices don't have intrinsic stretchability," explains Kenjiro Fukuda of the RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science. "Rather, they're similar to plastic wrap used to wrap food—you can maybe stretch them by 1% or 2%, but 10% is impossible since they tear easily."

Fukuda and his team are trying to overcome this problem by developing solar cells that are intrinsically stretchable.

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