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03/12/2008
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Researchers are working on circuits that can be ‘twisted’ allowing components to be used in places where flat, unbending electronics would fail, such as the human body.
The research involved the development of a method to fabricate stretchable electronics, increasing existing stretching ranges by as much as 140%. Traditionally, electronic components have been flat and unbendable because silicon is so brittle. However, this emerging technology revolves around flexible sensors, transmitters and new photovoltaic devices with the potential for use in applications as varied as medical and athletic environments.
Two engineers were involved in the research, Yonggang Huang, professor of civil and environmental engineering and mechanical engineering at Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science and John Rogers, Flory-founder chair professor of materials science and engineering at Illinois University.
In 2005, the partnership developed a one dimensional, stretchable form of single crystal silicon that could be stretched in one direction without altering its electrical properties, while earlier this year the pair developed stretchable integrated circuits. The next project involved a new kind of technology that allowed circuits to be placed on a curved surface, using an array of circuit elements approximately 100 micrometres square, connected by metal ‘pop up bridges’. Because the circuit elements were so small, they didn’t bend when placed on a curved surface.
Elements were connected by metal wires that popped when bent or stretched, while the pop up bridges had enough give that, in addition to bending and stretching, they could also be subjected to any complex deformation, including twisting. The technology has now been sufficiently improved to accommodate the potential for placing sensors on the human body.
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Author
Chris Shaw
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