Flexible electronics
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Flexible electronics is a term used to describe electronic devices deposited on flexible substrates such as plastic. In the simplest case, flexible electronics can be made by just using the same materials as for non-flexible large-area electronics. The only thing that needs to change is that the substrate needs to be flexible, rather than rigid. Typically in LCD fabrication for example, glass is used as a substrate. If thin flexible plastic or metal foil is used as the substrate instead, the entire system can be flexible as the films deposited on top of the substrate is usually very thin, on the order of a few micrometres.
OLEDs are normally used instead of a backlight for flexible displays, making a Flexible organic light-emitting diode display.
Flexible solar cells have been developed for powering satellites. These cells are lightweight and easily deployable making them a good match for the application.