A Review of Stretchable Displays Based on Rigid-Island Structures for Immersive Displays

Abstract

Stretchable displays are emerging as the next form factor for free-form human–machine interfaces, and the island–bridge structure is leading this transition by combining mechanical stretchability with the performance of rigid, high-quality devices. Rigid islands protect light-emitting diodes and driving circuits, while stretchable bridges absorb strain to preserve electrical stability under repeated deformation. This review explores design principles and implementation efforts that enhance system stretchability and reliability through stress-relief features, strain-engineered substrates, and material- or structure-based bridges. These advances achieve platform mechanical and electrical robustness, but robustness alone does not guarantee image quality. Deformation of the elastic substrate skews pixel spacing, and the widening of non-emissive regions reduces the fill factor, jointly degrading visual uniformity. Thus, recent advances are covered, which confront these side effects using metamaterial substrates with controlled Poisson’s ratios, multilayer structures that relocate bridges away from the display surface, and hidden pixel strategies that compensate active areas during stretching. Application demonstrations indicate momentum toward commercialization in skin-conformal biomedical patches, wearables, automotive interfaces, and industrial panels. The overall insight is that island–bridge platforms utilize established manufacturing processes and provide a scalable solution to high resolution and reliability, which presents a promising entry to market.