Transfer printing and its applications in flexible electronic devices

Flexible electronic systems have received increasing attention in the past few decades because of their wide-ranging applications that include the flexible display, eyelike digital camera, skin electronics, and intelligent surgical gloves, among many other health monitoring devices. As one of the most widely used technologies to integrate rigid functional devices with elastomeric substrates for the manufacturing of flexible electronic devices, transfer printing technology has been extensively studied. Though primarily relying on reversible interfacial adhesion, a variety of advanced transfer printing methods have been proposed and demonstrated. In this review, we first summarize the characteristics of a few representative methods of transfer printing. Next, we will introduce successful demonstrations of each method in flexible electronic devices. Moreover, the potential challenges and future development opportunities for transfer printing will then be briefly discussed.