Chief Scientist Laboratories Thin-Film Device Laboratory

Chief Scientist: Takao Someya (Ph.D.)

Japanese Page

Research Summary

Our laboratory is aiming to develop novel applications of thin-film devices such as organic electronics as well as to explore their fundamental study. More specifically, electronic and/or photonic devices are integrated on the ultra-thin films or rubber sheets to produce next-generation information devices having excellent mechanical flexibility. These flexible devices are cooperatively linked with state-of-the-art silicon technologies such as ultralow power wireless chips and applied to flexible systems. Moreover, by utilizing the biocompatible electronics such as flexible devices, emerging region that fuses the machine and the biological will be investigated to advance unique bio-medical and robotics applications. Furthermore, the rapid prototyping with the technique of digital fabrication will be utilized to establish various kinds of new systems and services that support humans and consequently the new manufacturing parading that can respond to rapid changes of society and meet their needs will be realized.

Main Research Fields

Engineering

Related Research Fields

Chemistry
Thin film/surface and interfacial physical properties-related

Keywords

Organic Electronics
Organic solar cells
Flexible electronics
Printing technology
stretchable conductors

Selected Publications

1. Sun, L., Wang, J., Matsui, H., Lee, S., Wang, W., Guo, S., Chen, H., Fang, K., Ito, Y., Inoue, D., Hashizume, D., Mori, K., Takakuwa, M., Lee, S., Zhou, Y., Yokota, T., Fukuda, K., and Someya, T.:
"All-solution-processed ultraflexible wearable sensor enabled with universal trilayer structure for organic optoelectronic devices"
Sci. Adv.10, eadk9460 (2024).
2. Xiong, S., Fukuda. K., Nakano, K., Lee, S., Sumi, Y., Takakuwa, M., Inoue, D., Hashizume, D., Du, B., Yokota, T., Zhou, Y., Tajima, K., and Someya, T.:
"Waterproof and ultraflexible organic photovoltaics with improved interface adhesion"
Nat.Commun. 15, 681 (2024).
3. Jiang, Z., Chen, N., Yi, Z., Zhong, J., Zhang, F., Ji, S., Liao R., Wang, Y., Li, H., Liu, Z., Wang, Y., Yokota, T., Liu, X., Fukuda, K., Chen, X., and Someya, T.:
"A 1.3-micrometre-thick elastic conductor for seamless on-skin and implantable sensors"
Nat. Electron., 5, 784-793 (2022).
4. Kakei, Y., Katayama, S., Lee, S., Takakuwa, M., Furusawa, K., Umezu, S., Sato, H., Fukuda, K., and Someya, T.:
"Integration of body-mounted ultrasoft organic solar cell on cyborg insects with intact mobilit"
npj Flex. Electron., 6, 78 (2022).
5. Liu, R., Zhong, L. W., Fukuda, K., and Someya, T.:
"Flexible self-charging power sources"
Nat. Rev. Mater., 7, 870-886 (2022).
6. Takakuwa, M., Fukuda, K., Yokota, T., Inoue, D., Hashizume, D., Umezu, S., and Someya, T.:
"Direct gold bonding for flexible integrated electronics"
Sci. Adv., 7, eabl6228 (2021).
7. Fukuda, K., Yu, K., and Someya, T.:
"The Future of Flexible Organic Solar Cells"
Adv. Energy Mater., 10, 2000765 (2020).
8. Lee, S., Sasaki, D., Kim, D., Mori, M., Yokota, T., Lee, H., Park, S., Fukuda, K., Sekino, M., Matsuura, K., Shimizu, T., and Someya, T.:
"Ultrasoft electronics to monitor dynamically pulsing cardiomyocytes"
Nat. Nanotechnol., 14, 156-160 (2019).
9. Park, S., Heo, S., Lee, W., Inoue, D., Jiang, Z., Yu, K., Jinno, H., Hashizume, D., Sekino, M., Yokota, T., Fukuda, K., Tajima, K., and Someya, T.:
"Self-powered ultra-flexible electronics via nano-grating-patterned organic photovoltaics"
Nature, 561, 516-521 (2018).
10. Xu, X., Fukuda, K., Karki, A., Park, S., Kimura, H., Jinno, H., Watanabe, N., Yamamoto, S., Shimomura, S., Kitazawa, D., Yokota, T., Umezu, S., Nguyen, T, and Someya, T.:
"Thermally stable, highly efficient, ultraflexible organic photovoltaics"
PNAS, 115, 4589-4594 (2018).