Microelectronic Morphogenesis—From Modular Micro-Origami Robots to Microelectronic Life

Microelectronic morphogenesis (MIMO) is the creation of form and structure under microelectronic control [1], and relies on our previous work on self-folding [2] and self-locomoting [3,4] thin film electronic modules, now carrying tiny silicon chiplets between the folds, for a massive increase in information processing capabilities. MIMO addresses key challenges in the field of micro- and microrobotics [4]. For instance, by controlling the robots’ materials elasticity with nanoscale precision, cell-sized picoforce springs with remarkably large and tunable compliancy can be fabricated – allowing articulated motion in microrobots as well as micromanipulations and force sensing well beyond state of the art [5]. The storage and delivery of energy for truly autonomous operation of microrobotic systems represents another key challenge in the field [6] and will be addressed by producing tiny deep-submillimeter on-board integrated batteries and biosupercapacitors [7,8]. Finally, the talk will reveal how microelectronic life could evolve from interacting modular microrobots that undergo self-learning and evolutionary development [1].<br/><br/>References<br/><br/>[1] J. S. McCaskill, D. Karnaushenko, M. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Adv. Mater. 35, 2306344 (2023).<br/>[2] C. Becker, B. Bao, D. D. Karnaushenko, V. K. Bandari, B. Rivkin, Z. Li, M. Faghih, D. Karnaushenko, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Comm. 13, 2121 (2022).<br/>[3] Y. Mei, A. A. Solovev, S. Sanchez, O. G. Schmidt, Chem. Soc. Rev. 40, 2109 (2011).<br/>[4] V. K. Bandari, Y. Nan, D. Karnaushenko, Y. Hong, B. Sun, F. Striggow, D. D. Karnaushenko, C. Becker, M. Faghih, M. Medina-Sanchez, F. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Electron. 3, 172 (2020).<br/>[5] H. Xu, S. Wu, Y. Liu, X. Wang, A. K. Efremov, L. Wang, J. S. McCaskill, M. Medina-Sánchez, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Nanotechnol. 19, 494 (2024).<br/>[6] M. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Nature 589, 195 (2021).<br/>[7] Y. Li, M. Zhu, V. K. Bandari, D. D. Karnaushenko, D. Karnaushenko, F. Zhu, O. G. Schmidt, Adv. Energy Mater. 12, 2103641 (2022)<br/>[8] Y. Lee, V. K. Bandari, Z. Li, M. Medina-Sanchez, M. F. Maitz, D. Karnaushenko, M. V. Tsurkan, D. D. Karnaushenko, O. G. Schmidt, Nature Comm. 12, 4967 (2021)