Stretchy silicon
Researchers at two leading US universities have developed silicon semiconductor membranes with both horizontal and vertical stretch. The material could have applications in medical electronics and other fields.
An ultra thin silicon membrane is created on a silicon on insulator wafer. This is applied to a prestrained membrane composed of polydimethylsiloxane.
When the application is finished, releasing the strain in the polymer layer causes the silicon to buckle, but, importantly, it does so in a predictable herringbone pattern. This can be stretched and will return to its ‘regular’ form afterwards. Thickness is currently 100nm.
As a result, the research team – based at the University of Illinois – Urbana-Champaign and the University of Arizona – believe it may have applications in medical imaging systems that directly conform to the contours of the patient and deliver more precise results.