Flexible, stretchable and healable electronics have the potential to redefine the appearance, design and fabrication of electronic devices, with a profound impact on personal electronics, electronic skin and healthcare. The development of flexible, stretchable and healable electronics, in particular for biological or healthcare applications, calls for biocompatible, transparent and conformable electronic materials, among which organic conducting polymers present unique opportunities. Investigation of the fundamental properties of organic conducting polymers, in order to control their electronic, chemical and mechanical properties is therefore of great importance for their integration into conformable organic electronic devices.

This thesis explores the processing of organic conducting polymer and the development of new fabrication technologies for flexible, stretchable and healable electronics.

We are able to pattern devices with microscale resolution that are able to sustain not only bending but also extensive stretching, so that they can accommodate on curved, soft, and elastic surfaces.

We develop healable materials, which can repair themselves and restore the device functionality after damage could greatly improve the longevity of soft electronics. Particularly, healing of organic electronic materials is of primary importance because it can be combined with flexibility and biocompatibility, thus being very promising for long-term biological sensing, neurologic recording and tissue engineering applications.

The advanced fabrication and processing technologies investigated in this thesis pave the way for the development of soft organic microelectronics for personal wearable electronics, flexible energy storage devices, flexible display and humidity detectors. In particular, the fact that devices can work stably and can self-repair in water leads to further applications in biological sensing, neural interfaces, drug delivery, and tissue engineering.